Maria Sharapova vs. Shuai Peng – Fourth Round Preview: Wimbledon Championships 2011
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova will be taking on Chinese Shuai Peng in the fourth round of 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in United Kingdom.
Seven year back, Sharapova made history when she defeated Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final to lift first Grand Slam trophy of her career. However following her triumph Sharapova could not live up to the expectations and managed
to win only two more Major titles, at 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open. Struggling with various forms of injuries throughout her career, Sharapova made a strong come back to the Women’s Tennis Associaiton tour this year as she rose to world number 6 in
the rankings.
The Russian has improved her game play with every match that she has played on the tour. Starting the year with a quarterfinal appearance at Auckland, Sharapova showed greater character to reach the fourth round of season’s first
Grand Slam tournament; Australian Open. She then entered the semifinal and final of Indian Wells and Sony Ericsson Open respectively. Giving inspirational results on the clay courts, she made it to the semifinal of Roland Garros.
Competing in her first grass court tournament of the season, Sharapova has looked in commanding form right from the start. She defeated Klara Zakopalova in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to book her fourth round berth at the prestigious
championships. If she can be consistent with her ground strokes and big serves, she has a strong chance of repeating history.
“On grass, it can be the small things that decide a match,” Sharapova said after her win in the third round. “And also the serve and the returns are key points at this point.”
Sharapova’s opponent, Shuai Peng is ranked 20th in the world rankings. She has been performing consistently on the tour since the year 2011 has started. Her most noticeable results were achieved at Copenhagen where she
lost to world number one in the final. Earlier this season she reached the quarterfinal of Pattaya City and Indian Wells. The Chinese tennis-pro has improved her game play significantly over the years and she can pull off a major upset if she can play up to
her potential.
The two players have faced each other three times on the tour prior to this meeting with Sharapova leading the head to head 2-1. Peng defeated the Russian in straight sets at 2009 Beijing Open. However in their most recent meeting
at the BNP Paribas Open, Sharapova avenged her defeat with a hard fought victory over the Chinese.
Both players possess deadly weapons which they can use to great effect against one another. Sharapova can play very aggressively from the baseline and will look to dominate the rallies. Peng on the other hand will be looking to
adopt hit and volley technique to earn as many cheap points as possible.
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