Sharapova Sets Up Final Against Jankovic
Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova stormed through to
the final of the DFS Classic at Edgbaston today after
an impressive 7-5 6-1 victory over 5th seed Tatiana
Golovin of France in 1 hour 18 minutes.
In the final Sharapova will play 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic
of Serbia & Montenegro, as the Russian tries to defend
her title at the Priory Club in Edgbaston.
Sharapova was always in command of her semi final against
Golovin, in what was a repeat of last years final. Despite
suffering from a cold, she stormed into a 5-2 lead in the
first set, before Golovin crawled back to 5-5 saving three
set points in the process. Sharapova finally broke again
in a long 11th game to the seal the first set 7-5. Golovin’s
resistance faded after that as she succumbed to the foot
and ankle injuries that have dogged her all week.
“I think it was pretty well done today,” said Sharapova.
“I was pretty relaxed from the start. I still don’t feel
100% physically, but at least tennis wise I played much better.
I’m still adjusting to the grass, but this was a much better
performance than the last one.”
Golovin put in a brave performance against a background of
injury worries that includes a twisted ankle and an infection
in a cut on her right foot.
“It held up pretty well in the first set, but at the start
of the second set I slipped and the bandages fell off,”
said the French star. “It was a pretty good first set
that could have gone either way, and that gives me hope for
Wimbledon. It’s a really cute tournament so you’ll
definitely see me coming back here for the next couple
of years.”
Earlier in the day, 20 year old Jankovic continued her
rich vein of form with a commanding semi final victory
over unheralded American Laura Granville 6-2 6-2. The
Serb needed only 55 minutes to march into the final,
having dropped only 20 games in four matches.
“I started the match well and broke in the first game
which gave me an advantage throughout the match,” said
Jankovic. “My serve was going so well that she never
had the chance to break me and that was the key. I
didn’t expect to be in the final as I didn’t know how
to play on grass very well before this week.”
Sharapova was full of praise for her opponent ahead of
tomorrow’s final. Sharapova leads their head-to-head
2-0, although Jankovic had to retire in the first set
of their last meeting.
“I will just go out and play my game,” said Sharapova.
I’ve never played her on grass, so it’s going to be
different than our other matches. Our first match went
to three sets at the US Open, so I can’t expect an easy match.”
Sunday’s final will start at 2:00pm.
[11.06.05 LTA Communications]
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http://0rz.net/5e0p9 Marion Raven (M2M)
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