[溫網]Wimbledon Semifinal Profile: Maria Sharapova
June 29, 2005
Wimbledon Semifinal Profile: Maria Sharapova
"Last year, I was in a totally different situation... I was happy to be in
the second week of a Grand Slam. This year I'm expecting myself to be in the
second week of a Grand Slam."
WIMBLEDON, England - At Wimbledon in 2004, a 17-year-old Maria Sharapova
stormed through her first four rounds without the loss of a set, came from
the brink of straight-sets defeats in the quarterfinals and semifinals
against Ai Sugiyama and Lindsay Davenport respectively, then steamrolled
two-time defending champion and top seed Serena Williams in the final to
claim her very first Grand Slam title, a dream come true for the Russian
teenager.
Just one year later, making it deep into the heart of Grand Slam events is no
longer a dream but a reality, as a more mature, 18-year-old Sharapova will do
battle against Venus Williams on Thursday for a spot in her second straight
final at the All-England Club.
Sharapova comes into this year's event with 10 career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
singles titles, most recently claiming her second straight title at the grass
court event in Birmingham just a few weeks ago. She has also been in
contention of Lindsay Davenport's No.1 ranking on-and-off throughout the last
few months, a few times being one match win away from becoming the first
top-ranked Russian in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history.
"I feel like I'm a much more experienced player this year," she said on her
evolution on the court since her surprise title run in 2004. "In certain
situations last year, I would have gone for my shots; this year I feel like
I've been in this situation before and I feel like I know what to do. I've
been able to bounce back from losing positions and learn from them."
Sharapova made her Wimbledon debut in 2003 as a wild card ranked No.91 in the
world. Her fearless but at times erratic power game took her to impressive
straight sets victories in the early rounds over 39th-ranked Ashley
Harkleroad, No.21 seed Elena Bovina and No.11 seed Jelena Dokic, who was a
former semifinalist at the event. She was finally ousted in the round of 16
in three tough sets by her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was the No.33
seed that year.
This year at the All-England Club, Sharapova has continued right where she
left off in 2004, when she made the aforementioned title run. The Russian
teenager has had a smooth path to the final four, not dropping a set so far
this fortnight, and losing a total of just 17 games in her first four rounds
against 36th-ranked Nuria Llagostera Vives, 52nd-ranked Sesil Karatantcheva,
57th-ranked Katarina Srebotnik and No.16 seed Nathalie Dechy. In the
quarterfinals, she ousted 23-year-old compatriot and No.8 seed Nadia Petrova
76(6) 63 to win her 22nd straight match on grass, dating back to her title
run at Birmingham last year.
"I'm thrilled, of course," said Sharapova on reaching her third career Grand
Slam semifinal, her first since the Australian Open earlier this year, where
she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in three sets. "When you're in
the second week of a Grand Slam, of course you're confident and so are the
opponents you're going to play, so it's normal."
On grass courts, solid serve statistics are one of the keys to success, and
Sharapova leads the field in some of the most crucial service categories. The
defending champion has served up the most aces through the first five rounds
at 23, and the least double faults at just six. She has also won a total of
64% of the points on her second serve. Finally, Sharapova has only had her
serve broken once en route to the semifinals, perhaps one of the most crucial
statistics on grass. She has faced just 11 break points so far, six of which
came in her third round match against Srebotnik, who was the only player to
break the Russian's serve this fortnight.
Sharapova has defeated Venus Williams in their only two prior encounters, a
63 64 victory in the quarterfinals at Zurich last year, and a 64 63 victory
in the semifinals at Miami this year. Despite the perfect 2-0 record against
the four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1, however, Sharapova
is not taking the match in the least bit lightly.
"She has a big game, and is a great fighter," she said on Williams. "So every
time we play we always have really tough matches. I just have to go and
battle it out and see who can come out and win the fight. I think the main
thing is just to be mentally tough. It's going to be a big battle, and that's
all.
"You've just got to fight. That's the only thing you can do."
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