| Sharapova became the best player in the country according to the WTA rating Maria Sharapova and Marat Safin entered the top four tennis players at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Sharapova made it to the semifinals, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the next Russian derby - 4:6, 6:2, 6:2. Safin more than confidently prevailed over Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty - 6:2, 6:4, 6:2. Thanks to her victory, the 17-year-old Russian will take the highest place among her compatriots in the new BTA ranking, which will be published next Monday. Sharapova took the title of the country's first racket from Anastasia Myskina, who stopped at the 1/8 final stage.
The girls had to fight against each other in the sweltering heat. During the match, each of them, at any pause, tried to go into the very depths of the court in order to stand in the shadows for a few seconds. In the first set, everything was decided by the point Kuznetsova earned on her opponent’s serve. The only break in the game allowed Svetlana to take the lead. Sharapova was clearly angry. The pace of the game increased, the Russians exchanged powerful blows, after which the ball flew at tremendous speed. In terms of the quality of the game, the match was more like decent men's tennis. Maria noticeably strengthened her technique, and her opponent failed to win at least one game on her serve in the next game.
The girls continued to swelter from the heat; during timeouts they applied large ice packs to different parts of their bodies, but this did not help. The judge made the right decision by giving the tennis players a 10-minute break after the second set. It clearly benefited Sharapova. She came out of the tribune rooms noticeably refreshed and took two games in a row. It seemed that Kuznetsova did not have enough passion. Her unforced errors became more frequent and she moved more slowly around the court. Maria was completely wound up. The winner of Wimbledon and the WTA Championship screamed louder and louder as she struck.
“It was one of the most difficult matches of my career,” Sharapova admitted. - At the beginning, I acted a little lazy, sometimes I didn’t run after difficult balls. It seems to me that we both began to play more actively, because due to the terrible heat, we wanted everything to end as quickly as possible. I've never played three-set matches in this weather before. I had to drink a lot of water. In general, I was very tired. Anyway, you had to go through such a test at some point, it’s a useful experience.” Kuznetsova believes that at some point she stopped playing: “My body was on the court, and my mind was somewhere else. Something happened to me after the first set, I stopped fighting, and it led to defeat. Masha intensified her blows, hit exactly in the right place, and yet the main factor in her victory was psychological stability.”
Sharapova will face Serena Williams in the semi-finals. The American is eager for revenge for her defeats in the finals of Wimbledon and the WTA Championship. Yesterday Williams Jr. defeated Amelie Mauresmo - 6:2, 6:2. The Frenchwoman will once again have to postpone her dream of winning at least one Grand Slam tournament until better times.
Safin, who made 14 serves against Hrbaty against his opponent’s two aces, will play against world number one Roger Federer in the semifinals. Marat and the Slovak took to the court ahead of their potential opponents, and after the victory the Russian said that, in principle, he did not care which of the two possible opponents he faced in the next round. Federer did not let the titled veteran of world tennis raise his head. Agassi failed to make a single break and made only one ace, while the Swiss took points directly from serve 22 times. It seems that the main factor in the fight between the Hammers Safin and Federer will be the ability to act at the reception. In their personal meetings, the Swiss has an overwhelming advantage - 6:1, and he won all three fights against Marat last season. The Russian achieved his only victory at home at the 2002 Kremlin Cup, but then Federer was not yet the great master that he is today.
The semi-finalists in the women's doubles have been determined. Among the participants in these matches are three Russians. Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Myskina will play a match against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alyssia Molik (Australia). So, no matter the outcome, we will have someone to root for in the final match. Ilya TRISVIATSKY |
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