Maria Sharapova vs. Kaia Kanepi: Quarter-Final Preview – French Open 2012
Two blondes, one aim; it’s world number two, Maria Sharapova, up against the 23rd ranked Estonian, Kaia Kanepi, for the first time in the history of their professional contest and they are fighting for the place in the
last four of the Roland Garros French.
Putting some light on their recent performance, we can witness just one loss in the last ten encounters for the Russian tennis icon and two for her competitor. So, the stakes are high and the stage is set for an epic three-setter
cracker unless one of the players disappoints completely and surrenders early in the match.
Let’s have a look at some of the victims of Sharapova in her last ten encounters. She is on a nine match unbeaten run having lost to the American number one, Serena Williams, in the quarter-final of the Mutua Madrid Open. She has
ousted two former world number ones, Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, in Rome. Moreover, she has trashed the in-form German number one, Angelique Kerber, and the defending champion of the French Open, Li Na, as well. So, there are some big names amongst her
victims list that must have gave her a lot of confidence for her first Grand Slam title dream in Paris. If she manages to win the title here, she will complete her career slam and more importantly reclaim the throne from the reigning world number one, Victoria
Azarenka.
On the other hand, Kanepi lost in the opening round of Madrid from the Czech starlet, Lucie Safarova, before stooping to the top seed Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska, in the semi-final of Brussels Open. Apart from that, she has defeated
the likes of Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, in her last ten encounters. Another big victim for her was the in-form Arantxa Rus who looked threatening throughout the tournament.
Both players were tested to their extreme level by their last competitors. Sharapova dug deep into three sets to save an upset on Monday whilst the Estonian also saved lost the second set but posted a bagel in the final one to
stamp her authority. It was the first time for the Russian to have dropped a set in the tournament; before that she was cruising along dropping a maximum of three games to the fourth round stage.
They don’t have any sort of history between them so that makes it a much more interesting competition. No mind games can be played and no psychological pressure will be there on both players. They will come out and try to perform
their best especially the Russian number one who has stayed in the hunt of grabbing the number one spot ever since her comeback from the major injury layoff.
Stage is set and the blondes are ready. Nothing is more fascinating than watching two beauty queens battling it out in the middle of clay courts. My pick for the match is the tournament favourite, Maria Sharapova, but the chances
of an upset can’t be written off completely.
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