Women’s singles quarter-finals preview Day 9 – US Open 2012
US Open Championship is surely the most anticipated tennis tournament this season, held at the hard courts of the Flushing Meadows in New York, United States. Top seeded, Victoria Azarenka will be contesting against the Aussie
world number seven, Samantha Stosur and third seeded, Maria Sharapova will encounter the French veteran Marion Bartoli on Tuesday.
Victoria Azarenka vs. Samantha Stosur:
The reigning world number one, Azarenka battled against the Aussie about six times and currently she dominates the head-to-head series with 6-0. The two contestants faced each other for the first time at the New Haven Tennis
Champion and the unseeded Belarusian tennis ace crushed her rival in the qualifying round, 6-1, 6-3. In the Bank of the West Classic tournament held at Stanford, Azarenka gave the then top seeded Stosur a straight sets upset, 6-2, 6-3, in the semi-finals.
Earlier this year, the 25-year-old devastated the former world number four in the final round of the Qatar Ladies Open.
Ranked seventh in the WTA Premier rankings, Stosur successfully bagged her 11 uninterrupted victories at US Open. Nonetheless, she maintains an excellent run of form this year, posting decent performances in all the major
tournaments. She is one of hot favourite contenders for the Grand Slam and surely has the potential to upset Azarenka in the quarter-finals.
Maria Sharapova vs. Marion Bartoli:
The world number three, Maria Sharapova is drawn to face the French tennis professional Marion Bartoli for a spot in the semis. The Russian participant will surely give her rival a tough challenge as she subjugated almost
all the ordeals in her way and successfully marked a 4-0 lead in her prior meetings with Bartoli. Both the players battled against one another for the first time at the Qatar Total Open in Doha and the second seeded Sharapova prevailed over her rival with
a 6-3, 6-2 win. The duo encountered each other last time at the Western and Southern Open-Cincinnati, with the Russian professional overpowering the 16th seeded, Bartoli in straight set, 6-1, 6-4.
The Russian number one exhibited her flawless game throughout the running WTA season. Earlier this year, she made it to the final of the Australian Open against the third seeded, Azarenka and received a shocking straight
sets defeat by 6-3, 6-0. She is the title bearer of the French Open this season, after she smashed the Italian number one, Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2. However, at the Wimbledon Championships, the top seeded Sharapova received a surprising defeat by Sabine Lisicki
in the fourth round. At the London Olympics, she was the finalist but faced a terrible loss by the hands of the American veteran Serena Williams, due to her stomach illness.
The former world number one, Sharapova and current top seed, Azarenka, have the highest probability of taking over their rivals and one will definitely compete in the final.
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