Maria Sharapova went a step further in her second consecutive Australian Open final by winning the third Grand Slam of her career on Saturday in Melbourne.
Sharapova, the fifth seed in the tournament, downed third seed Ana Ivanovic in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.
The last time a woman seeded fifth won the Australian Open was in 1979 when No. 5 seed Barbara Jordan defeated No. 4 seed Sharon Walsh 6-3, 6-3.
After dominating the top half of the draw over the past fortnight, Sharapova won the trophy without dropping a set in seven matches.
Her road to the final saw three bagel set victories, including one over world No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals. Sharapova defeated Henin 6-4, 6-0, snapping Henin’s thirty-two match win streak dating back to post-Wimbledon 2007.
Sharapova’s performance on Saturday was the exact opposite of her showing against Serena Williams in 2007. Sharapova was demolished by Williams in two quick sets, a stark contrast to her own two set domination of Ivanovic in today’s final.
Even years apparently hold a special charm for Sharapova who won her first major title in 2004 at Wimbledon, followed by her second Grand Slam two years ago at the US Open.
After her tumultuous season in 2007, Sharapova’s third Grand Slam title triumphantly returns her to the pinnacle of women’s tennis.
“If you had told me in the middle of last year that I would be standing here on this stage with the big one I would say, forget it,” said Sharapova.
Sharapova dedicated today’s win to her coach Michael Joyce’s mother Jane, who passed away last May.
“Last year was a very difficult year for me,” added the new Australian Open champion. “But I gained a whole new perspective on life and tennis became very small.”
Sharapova was awarded $1,370,000 (AUD) in prize money for winning the women’s singles trophy. Finalist Ana Ivanovic received $685,000 (AUD).
Although she lost today, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has projected Ivanovic to climb to a career-high of No. 2 on the computer rankings Monday. Sharapova will not progress higher than her current ranking of No. 5.
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- Randy Nichols.
Wow, what a surprise! *rolls eyes*
Hopefully the French Open will be a little more exciting.
Randy,
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God Bless.
Will.I.Am. – Did you hear Chris Fowler talking after the match how Sharapova could go for the career Grand Slam in May at Roland Garros?
I believe Henin, Kuznetsova, or even Ivanovic might have something to say about that.
Sharapova will be the player to beat at the Pacific Life Open (especially with no Williams sisters and possibly not even Henin) and the Sony Ericsson Open. Her game is currently unbeatable on a hard court surface, but I’m not yet convinced that she can do a serious run on clay.
I thought the Pacific Life and the Sony Ericsson were both mandatory? I remember reading an article about the Williams sisters threatening to sue the tour if they had to play there over an incident that happened in 2001.
It was no surprise that Maria won and she deserved it as she was the best player the whole fortnight. But I look forward to seeing how she handles the pressure at other tournaments. gee her father was well behaved I watch some of Maria’s matches to see what Yuri will get up to that was a major disappointment.
Aaress, I think it is possible for Maria to win at Roland Garros. She’s made it to the semifinals before, so she has proven she can play on the surface. Has she ever won a clay court tournament? I think if she has a favorable draw and can avoid Justine, her chances are great.
Mentally, I don’t think Kutznetsova and Ivanovic will win a grandslam this year. They make way too many errors in big matches. If you ask me, they are one step behind Nadia Petrova when it comes to dealing with pressure. Justine is Maria’s only real threat on clay.
And what about Wimbledon? Maria is playing better than when she won it in 2004. Hopefully Maria will meet Venus in the final. That would be a dream final!
It’s so funny how everyone (or was it just me?)was saying Maria wasn’t living up to expectations before this tournament and now she is so close to having a career singles grand slam. Amazing!
I must confess I have not seen tennis enough to actually get my head around the distinction that is made betweeen surfaces…
Aares, will you do a Tennis-surfaces-for-idiots article on this sometime in the future
In the meantime, I felt a little sorry for Ana last night while the tears streamed from her face. I thought she was so close, but not there.
She couldnt have beatean Maria with that much power to her serve and return, but when you get one over Venus williams, only to lose @ d finals, that should be a ‘Viagraic’ pill to take you to the next level.
I m quite happy for her, and hope she ll get it back from Maria in due course.
Sharapova would need Henin to be having a stomachache or something to win the French, she would be last on the list to have a chance on clay…
Sure thing Dapxin – that is a great idea! I’ll add it to our editorial calendar for the next few months. We’ll take a look at the surfaces and handicap the most successful players on each.
That was an emotional final for both women – for a second, I thought we might even see Sharapova tear up.
Will – I’m not convinced that we’ll see Sharapova win Roland Garros, but a Venus vs. Maria final for Wimbledon would be AWESOME! Plus, put a fitter Davenport on grass and we may see her go deep at a Slam.
Vicki – The Pacific Life Open is not currently a mandatory tournament, but it will be in 2009 as part of the Tour’s Roadmap 2010.
However, Matt Cronin from Tennis Reporters mentioned a few weeks ago the potential inclusion of some type of “emotional duress” clause, which could be a big enough loophole to keep the Williams sisters clear of a fine or suspension. If not, I would not be surprised if Richard Williams decided to sue the Tour on their behalf.
Well, I’m still an Ivanovic believer. Besides, she was the only one who made Sharapova at least break a sweat this whole tournament.
Sorry people, Maria Sharapova is NOT a clay courter. Last time was the first time she made the semi’s at Roland Garros. Just because she won the first major doesn’t mean she’ll win the next three.
Leave the clay to the real clay players;Henin, Kuznetsova…..Oh that would be a good final. If that were to happen, i pray that it’s better than 06′, and with Kuznetsova as the champ!
Again I’m loving the stats:
http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/stats/day18/2701ms.html
It seems that sometimes not even the players themselves are sure of what is going on in their matches. As always, Sharapova’s serve was credited by reporters and Ivanovic, as being the main thing. Watching the match, I had the same opinion yet the stats tell a different story.
The telling difference was unforced errors.