Internazionali BNL d’Italia: Caroline Wozniacki vs. Maria Sharapova – Semi-final Preview
Tennis fans anxiously wait for Saturday afternoon when the top ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark will be seen in action against the former world number one Maria Sharapova of Russian in the second semi-final of Internazionali
BNL d’Italia.
The highly anticipated contest will take place at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy and the winner will get a shot at the $2,050,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
The destructive form of Wozniacki continues in Rome as she forced her way to the semi-final of the event after receiving a bye to the second round. She took down Anastasia Rodionova and Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets in the
opening rounds but had to toil a bit against the fifth seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-final. The Dane manoeuvred trough the contest against Jankovic in three sets 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to make it to the semis of the clay-court tournament.
World number eight Sharapova is straining to get back her vintage form in Rome. She was off to a ballistic start to the tournament, disposing off her opening round opponents in straight sets but had a tough time in the quarter-final
round against the world number four, Victoria Azarenka. Sharapova lost the opener 4-6 but was leading the second set 3-0 when Azarenka had to pull out of the matchup due to her persistent injury. The lucky escape for Sharapova gave her a pass into the semis,
facing the in-form Wozniacki.
The two dominating forces in women’s tennis have met four times before in singles matchups. The head-to-head record between the two top class players is levelled at 2-2 but Wozniacki has bagged victories in the two of the most
recent encounters. The last time Sharapova played against the top seed was at Indian Wells this year, when she suffered a humiliating 6-1, 6-2, defeat at the hands of Wozniacki. The only contest she played against the Dane on a clay court was back in 2008
at the same venue and Sharapova outplayed Wozniacki in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals. The Russian will certainly desire to replicate the same performance this time round and get a title shot in the final.
Wozniacki has been in superb form in the running WTA season and has already clinched three championship titles so far. However, the Dane’s consistency has been a source of concern for the tennis fans, as she has suffered defeats
in the final round of four WTA tournaments after having an excellent start. It seems as if Wozniacki tend to lose her focus in the game as the tournament progresses and this weakness might be well exploit by her strong Russian opponent in the semi-final as
well.
“She’s No.1 in the world and a great clay court player,” Sharapova expressed her thoughts about her semi-final match against Wozniacki, “It’s going to be a very physical match. She’s someone that never misses a ball. It will be
really important to be patient and aggressive when I have to be.”
Sharapova is not in her greatest of forms and it will take something special from her to take down the world number one player in the semis. However, the Russian has got all the abilities to give a tough time to any top class player
in the world. Wozniacki might be rated to be the hot favourite for the contest but it won’t be easier for her to take down Sharapova in the Saturday’s matchup.
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