Maria Sharapova is one of the injury
affected top players as the 2013 began. She was set to play Brisbane International but she
had to withdraw due to the right collarbone injury.
There will definitely be question marks
on her form while entering the Australian Open, owing to the injury concern. However, we know that we now count on her to go deep in the draw, since she was coming off an injury lay off last year as well and did not play any warm-up event but went on to reach the final.
Let us see the chances of Sharapova going
deep at the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova and Australian Open 2013 – Based on the past results
of 2nd seeds at Australian Open
It is interesting to note that a 2nd
seeded player has never lost in the first and the second round of the
Australian Open in the past 25 years. In fact a 2nd seeded player has
lost only 5 times before the quarter-final of the Australian Open, and has went
on to lift the trophy 4 times in the past 25 years.
The last time a second seed went on to
lift the trophy was in 2009 when Serena Williams went on win her 4th Australian Open title.
The 2nd seed has went on to
reach the semi-finals for the last two years.
How far will Sharapova go into the
Australian Open, will she go on to clinch her 2nd Australian Open
crown or will she bow out before the championship match?
Maria Sharapova and Australian Open 2013 – Based on the past performances
of Sharapova at Australian Open
Maria Sharapova is an impressive 34-8
life-time in the Australian Open, and her best showing came in 2008, when as a
5th seed she defeated top seed Justine Henin in the quarter-finals,
3rd seeded Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals and 4th seeded Ana Ivanovic in
the finals to claim the Australian Open crown.
4 of Sharapova’s 8 loses at the
Australian Open have been at the hands of top 8 players. One of the loses to
the players outside the top 8 has been at the hands of Serena Williams, when
Serena Williams was ranked no.81, coming off an injury lay off, and defeated
Sharapova in the final of 2007 Australain Open.
One of the remaining 3 loses came on her
debut in the Australian Open in 2003, when she came of qualifiers and was was
defeated in the first round by another qualifier Klara Zakoplaova (the name
sounds familiar ;) ).
The two other loses came in 2010 in the
first round when Sharapova was coming off an injury lay off, and the other loss
came in 2011 in the 4th round at the hands of German, Andrea
Petkovic.
Maria Sharapova has been to the
semi-finals or better of the Australian Open at 5 of her 9 appearances. Given
her history at the Australian Open, she should be one of the favourites for the
title, alongside Serena Williams.
Given her 2nd seed, she will
not face Victoria Azarenka till the final, if both make it to the final.
However, one major concern for Sharapova will be the placement of Serena
Williams in the draw. If Serena Williams lands into Sharapova’s half,
Sharapova’s chances of making it to the final will be very bleak given her 2-9
head to head against Serena Williams and the fact that the Russian’s last
victory over the American came in 2004 and since then Sharapova has been able
to take off only 2 sets in the 9 encounters. The last set Sharapova won against
Serena was way back in 2008.
Maria Sharapova will definitely need to
bring back her 2004 form if she is to win the title.
How far do you see Maria
Sharapova going into the Australian Open?
P.S : Stay tuned for the previews of Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic.
For a preview of other players please refer below:
Thanks Omair Malik,
ReplyDeleteGreat post about tennis beauty of Maria Sharapova. its amazing Russian tennis player . I am big fans of Maria Sharapova.
Thanks Aman for liking the post. Yes, she is the top Russian player at the moment and has a chance to grab the top ranking at Australian Open 2013
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