Serena and Sharapova – Wimbledon second round previews
A fourth-round match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova is on the cards at Wimbledon, but they’ll need to get a couple more wins on the board first. Here’s a look at their second round matches.
Serena Williams v Anna Chakvetadze
Serena couldn’t have asked for a better start to her title defence than her 6-0, 6-4 win over Michelle Larcher De Brito. Indeed, the only fault the defending champion could pick in her game when asked at the press conference after the match was that “I could have came to the net more.”
While Serena’s 23-year-old opponent actually has the 1-0 lead in their past matches, having taken the honours when the pair met in the round robin stage of the WTA tour Championships in 2007, a lot has happened since that match.
Back then, Chakvetadze was a star on the rise, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 5 but whether or not there’s an ongoing connection with her form reversal and the home invasion that took place in December 2007, things haven’t been the same on court for the Russian since and she enters this match as the 118th ranked player in the world.
Tucked away on court two for this match, Serena won't have to worry about perfecting her curtsy in time for the Queen’s visit to Wimbledon on day four but should treat all who are watching to a display of her tennis prowess in this one nonetheless.
Maria Sharapova v Ioana Raluca Olaru
Could it be that Maria Sharapova has returned to SW19 in the kind of form that makes her a genuine contender again this year? Or will the 2004 champion crumble once again when she finds herself facing her first player ranked inside the top-40? (She hasn’t beaten a top-40 ranked player all year.)
Regardless, if Sharapova plays with the same ferocity as she did in her first-round match against Anastasia Pivovarova when she faces Ioana Raluca Olaru she should have no problems in reaching the third round this year.
The good news for the 16th seed is that not only did she play very, very well in her opening match, her injury woes seem to be, at least for now, behind her.
“I feel good. My body feels good. You know, I'm in much better match condition than I was last year. Feel good physically,” Sharapova, who underwent shoulder surgery in late 2008 and missed about two months of this year with elbow problems, said.
While the world No. 118th ranked Olaru managed to create a comeback win from one set down against former top-20 player Alize Cornet in her opening match to reach the second round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career, her run should stop here.
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