Maria Sharapova one of the hottest tennis female not favorite to win the French Open
Maria Sharapova has joined the ranks of tennis players who have pulled out of tournament because of injuries. The 2010 season has been plagued with injury as several players have injured themselves because of the hectic schedules of the tournaments (or so they claim). Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Sony Ericsson tournament in Miami, and although this is not a pre-French Open tournament, any injury that causes a player to pull out of a competition can hurt a player’s 2010 season. Other players to pull out of the tournament are Dinara Safina and Nikolay Davydenko.
In fact players like Rafael Nadal have been openly speaking about the conflicting and fatigue-causing schedules of the clay-court season. Nadal recently withdrew from the Barcelona Open (his hometown tournament) because his body is asking him to rest. There are many other players who have pulled out of several competitions in fear that they may aggravate their chronic injuries.
Maria Sharapova first picked up her injury back in the Indian Wells competition in a match against China’s Zheng Jie. According to her scans, it will take six weeks for her to recover from the injury; this is ample time for her to recover and participate in the upcoming French Open come May 23rd.
Maria Sharapova has played just six matches in 2010 at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis. The win in Memphis is her 21st career title and is her last title before she pulled out of the tournament. After coming back from injury, Maria got a much needed win at the Strasbourg International, however she was obviously made to work for it and it was evident that her recent elbow injury was still bothering her. Despite her hardships in winning over Regina Kulikova, critics believe that Sharapova is in fine form.
Sharapova is greatly aware how ‘behind’ she is in matches, in fact in a recent interview; she says that she needs more matches. If she really wants to get back into the groove in time for the French Open, then she needs do well in Strasbourg International. The French Open is a competition dominated by Justine Henin, who has won the tournament four times (2003, 2005-2007); if she does not well in Strasbourg, then her chances of winning the French Open are slim
Despite winning the French Open title back in 2008, Maria Sharapova is not one of the top favorites to win the tournament. After all, she won the French Open in the year that Justine Henin (who last lost in the French Open back in 2004) has just retired; critics and scholars believe that Henin is the clear frontrunner this year and players like Sharapova or even Kuznetsova will have a hard time stealing the crown from player who has won the tournament four times in the last decade.
What is currently working for Maria Sharapova is the fact that she is gaining momentum at just the right time. If she peaks at the right moment, she will be spectacular at the French Open. In fact, based on her win in Strasbourg International, Maria Sharapova has 50/1 chances of winning the whole tournament. These odds may seem bad especially since players like Venus Williams have 11/1 chances of winning and Justine Henin having 15/8 odds in the betting circuit.
Overall, Maria is expected to reach at least the third round of the French Open this year. If she fares well in Strasbourg, maybe she will reach the quarter finals or even the semi-finals. With the recent elbow injury still affecting her game, it’s safe to say that Sharapova is not a big contender at this year’s French Open.
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