WOMEN'S SINGLES SFs
"Match of the Day"
Maria Sharapova (RUS) (2) v Petra Kvitova (CZE) (4)
at
Court Philippe Chatrier
not before
12:00 PM Paris Local Time
So the rivalry continues. In three of the last four Grand Slams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova have been drawn to one another. Last year it was the Wimbledon final, where the Czech triumphed in straight sets. This year they have already met in the Australian Open semis, where Sharapova took it in three. Their latest showdown is set for Roland Garros 2012. Each has her eyes on a prize – for Kvitova it is her first French Open final, for Sharapova, the world no.1 spot. Let battle commence.
The Russian currently holds the edge in their career battles, having beaten Kvitova on the way to the Stuttgart title on clay this spring (she also took the title on the red dirt of Rome). Sharapova is widely acknowledged as world’s leading player on la terre battue this clay court season – quite something for the woman who once described her movement on clay as “like a cow on ice”. Perhaps the fates really are with Sharapova this time to complete the career Grand Slam she began with Wimbledon 2004, and continued with the 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open. Only the French remains, and her odyssey will be complete.
But the fact is that she has made the semis at Roland Garros twice before, and twice she has fallen short – in 2007 to Ana Ivanovic, and last year to Li Na after battling back from the career-threatening shoulder surgery she underwent on her service arm in October 2008. There are no fairytales in elite sport, as Sharapova knows. Now 25, with experience beyond her years, she is taking nothing for granted against Kvitova.
“She's an extremely tough opponent, someone I have had good success against in our last couple of meetings,” grants the Russian, adding ominously: “But always tough matches. The last one in Stuttgart was a tough two‑setter for me. She had opportunities in that second set to win it. She seems to be playing really well. When she's confident, and when she's hitting the ball, she's quite dangerous. I hope that I can raise my level.”
Kvitova found herself in a match in her quarter-final against the qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova, ranked 142 in the world. But on the lawns of the All England Club eleven months ago she showed herself to be a player for the big occasion, and if many sports fans still cannot quite recall the name of the current Wimbledon champion, it would help cement her identity in the collective public mind were 22-year-old Kvitova to come through here.
“Wimbledon was something special for me,” she remembers. “It was my first [Grand Slam] final. I was the number eight [seed] and she was favourite for the match. But I had nothing to lose so I just played my game. At Australia, she played well. But I hope I remember something [from Wimbledon] and it will be different on the clay.”
Kvitova has had a rough stretch battling illness and injuries since that Australian Open semi . Now she has won five matches in a row for the first time since January. She feels her form is coming back.
"It's good to know that I can play and I hope that it will be not only five [matches in a row]. But I know Maria is a tough opponent. I lost in the [last two] matches [against her]. She's playing very well. She has a great season right now, and she's very tough opponent.”
No comments:
Post a Comment