Daniela Hantuchova and Maria Sharapova were the last two players to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships, and it was fitting that both of them were the first to compete on Monday for the red group’s opening round robin match.
Hantuchova beat out Sharapova for the eighth berth into the Championships by virtue of playing more tournaments in 2007 than the two-time Grand Slam champion. However, Sharapova still reached Madrid after Venus Williams withdrew.
On Tuesday in Madrid, Sharapova showed that she deserves to be in the elite field at the season-ending Championships by defeating Hantuchova in straight sets 6-4, 7-5.
Her serve still looks a little shaky, but nothing compared to her performance at the US Open. Hitting only five double-faults is a good day at the office for Sharapova right now, and her straight sets win today over Hantuchova should give her the confidence needed to take on Kuznetsova and Ivanovic, and possibly even Serena Williams or Justine Henin later in the tournament.
There was a bit of drama during Sharapova’s service game at 5-4 in the second set. Hantuchova hit a forehand that appeared to be long on match point, leading Sharapova to believe that the match was over. Hantuchova challenged the call, which was ruled in by Hawk-Eye, and came back to break Sharapova’s serve and stay in the match.
Hantuchova’s recovery was short-lived; Sharapova broke her serve in the next game and served out the match on her fifth match point 6-4, 7-5.
[TABLE=3]
[...] Henin d. Anna Chakvetadze Maria Sharapova d. Daniela Hantuchova Ana Ivanovic d. Svetlana [...]