2011 Sony Ericsson Open: Maria Sharapova vs. Alexandra Dulgheru Preview
Former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova will be facing a new opponent in her quarterfinal match at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where she is seeded sixteenth. The Russian pro will be taking on Romanian tennis player Alexandra Dulgheru,
whom she has never played against before.
Sharapova has played at Miami five times before, putting in her last appearance in 2007. She was ranked World Number 2 at the time of her last showing at the event, and managed to defeat players Yung-Jan Chan and Venus Williams
in her first two matches. She reached the fourth round against thirteenth seed Serena Williams, who defeated the Russian pro 6-1, 6-1. Since then, injuries have kept Sharapova from participating in the Sony Ericsson Open until this year.
Alexandra Dulgheru on the other hand, has only played at the Sony Ericsson Open once before. She made her debut on the hard courts of Miami last year, when she was ranked World Number 49. The Romanian pro made it past the first
round of the tournament to reach the second round, where she was defeated by Russian fourth seed Victoria Azarenka.
The two-time finalist received a bye in the first round of the tournament, and proceeded directly to the next round against Croatian tennis pro Petra Martic. She defeated the wildcard and went on to play against German wildcard
Sabine Lisicki, who retired in the third set. Sharapova’s fourth round win was against fourth seed Samantha Stosur, whom she upset in straight sets 6-0, 7-6(1). The player talked about her performance in the match, saying, “In the beginning I thought I made
a few more errors on the second serves than I should have. I adjusted to that and I became more solid and started going for it a little bit more, and I felt more comfortable.”
Dulgheru will have her hands full later today during the quarterfinal, as Maria Sharapova seems to be making a steady return to form. The Russian pro, whose career has been interrupted by multiple injuries, has been climbing back
up the charts by honing the natural talent which led her to win the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. She says, “There have been some matches where I felt like little pieces start coming together. When I came back after missing so many tournaments
and matches, the first thing I just noticed was how those natural instincts just go away so much.”
If Maria Sharapova defeats Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarterfinal, she will take on either Serbian pro Jelena Jankovic or German player Andrea Petkovic in the semi-final of the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.
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