Maria Sharapova sets her sight on the China Open title – Tennis News
World number two, Maria Sharapova, passed the second-last hurdle at the hard courts of Beijing in an hour and 41 minutes; dispatching the former French Open Champion, Li Na, in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. Later in the day, the top
ranked woman in the world, Victoria Azarenka, bamboozled the 10th ranked Frenchwoman, Marion Bartoli, in a tipsy turvy contest to book a date with her arch rival, Sharapova.
Commenting about her performance and the confidence level, the 25-year-old Russian said, “I came into this tournament not playing extremely well in Tokyo, and I had a couple of days of practice here. I really wanted to do well
and get to the final stage of this tournament, because I hadn't been to the finals here. I'd played a few times, and skipped last year because I was injured.”
She further added, “So I was hoping from the first round I'd really step it up and get better - and I feel as the tournament has gone on I've been playing and moving better.”
The grand finale of the event will take place on Sunday and the two top ranked women will take part in it. At the moment, the Belarusian superstar leads the head-to-head series by 6-4; three of these wins coming in the current
season whilst Sharapova managing just a single victory in the Italian Open.
Sharapova has confirmed her place in the season-end finale at Istanbul that will commence from October 23rd. However, the victory in the final of the China Open will help her enter that tournament at high-note. Moreover,
it will help the second ranked Russian to stamp her authority against the 23-year-old Belarusian who has been a biggest hurdle in her path.
She is seeking the number one spot by the end of the season. It might be difficult for her to accomplish that wish but more wins will help her narrow the gap of points and keep the number one player under pressure from the start
of the new season in 2013. Let’s hope the Russian blonde exceeds the expectations of her fans and grab the fourth title of the season on Sunday.
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