Two Titles In A Row for Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova’s impressive form has continued as she beat Nadia Petrova in straight sets 7-5 6-2 to win the General Ladies Linz. The was the 2nd straight tournament success for Sharapova following on from her win last week in the Zurich Open.

Sharapova added to her victories at the
U.S. Open, Indian Wells, San Diego and Zurich. By reaching the final the 19-year-old will overtake Justine Henin-Hardenne as the world number two when the rankings are announced on Monday.

Top-seeded Sharapova is also in contention, along with the Belgian and Amelie Mauresmo of France, of finishing the season at number one, a position she last held on October 23, 2005.
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Sharapova, Petrova in Linz Open final

US Open champion Maria Sharapova was scheduled to face Russian compatriot — and defending champion — Nadia Petrova in the Linz Open final here yesterday with the aim of wrapping up her fifth title of the season.

Top seed Sharapova, who won the Zurich Open last weekend, managed to overcome Swiss third seed Patty Schnyder 7-5, 7-5 in her semi-final.

Petrova, also with four titles under her belt this year, eased past Czech fourth seed Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-2.

“I was a little tired mentally,” Sharapova said.

“I never managed to get two or three games in a row,” she said.

Schnyder’s defeat also meant that the Swiss player missed out on a place in the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid.

Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis claimed the last two places in the event.

“We will see what sort of level we are at before the Masters,” said world number five Petrova, who had already booked her place in Madrid.

Petrova, 24, claimed her first career title here last year.

Maria Sharapova Wins Zurich Title

Sharapova has done it again!, The U.S Open champion continued her fine form to capture the Zurich Open final crown, her fourth title of the year on Sunday by beating unseeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 4-6 6-3 in the final of the Zurich Open.

It was Sharapova’s first title in Zurich, after she finished as runner-up to Alicia Molik in 2004.

The victory, achieved with the loss of just one set all week, added to the Indian Wells, San Diego and U.S. titles she earned earlier this year.

Although the second-seeded Russian will remain at number three in the rankings next week behind Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin-Hardenne, the win boosted her chances of ending the season as world number one.
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Zurich Open final : Sharapova’s In!

Maria Sharapova’s hope of finishing the year ranked No. 1 in woman’s tennis may happen as she has booked her ticket to the Zurich Open Final after defeating Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 despite an aching foot.

Sharapova, the U.S. Open champion, is ranked No. 2 behind Amelie Mauresmo, who withdrew from the tournament Thursday with a shoulder injury.

“I felt better, more in control, and was moving around the court better,” Sharapova said. “I had a few lows. I got up a break in the second and then let her back into it. But I definitely played a lot of points good and even though I got broken I felt in control.”
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Sharapova reaches semifinals and could end up being number 1

U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova defeated Timea Bacsinszky 6-4, 6-3 Friday to reach the Zurich Open semifinals and boost her chances of finishing the year atop the world rankings.

Sharapova next will play Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, who advanced by defeating Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-2.

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated fifth-seeded Martina Hingis 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the semifinals, rebounding from a poor performance at home last week.

“I’m not really happy with the second set, but I’m happy with the rest,” said Kuznetsova, who lost her opening match in Moscow last week. “She played more aggressively and I started to play worse in the second set but I knew the match was still in my hands if I played the last set like I did the first.”

Kuznetsova will face Daniela Hantuchova, who received a walkover after top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo withdrew with a shoulder injury.

The second-seeded Sharapova is playing with right foot pain that forced her to pull out of a tournament last week in Moscow. She received a first-round bye in Zurich, while Bacsinszky went through qualifying to reach the main draw.

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Shorter Tennis Season? - Sharapova Supports It.

Russian pin-up Maria Sharapova added her voice to calls for the women’s tennis season to be slashed after figures showed an alarming rise in the number of top players hobbling out of events.

The US Open champion, and former world No. 1, fell victim to the curse herself on Friday when a hip injury forced her to withdraw from the Kremlin Cup quarter-finals in Moscow.

“I feel strongly that the tennis season needs to be made shorter, with more breaks for players to rest in order to be in peak condition when we do play,” said Sharapova, the world No. 3. “I know the Tour is taking this issue seriously and I’m looking forward to the changes that will lead to a healthier schedule.”

The WTA Tour on Friday released figures showing that top player withdrawals have reached an all-time high this season.

The report showed that top 10 player withdrawals from the Tour’s high-profile tournaments have more than doubled [from 13 to 31] from last year to this.

In the last five years, the figure has increased by 72 percent.

WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott has organized a committee to develop specific rule changes for next year that he hopes will improve the situation.

Scott also confirmed the need for the Tour’s `Roadmap 2010′ plan to be accelerated by one year, to 2009.

This plan is aimed at creating a more suitable schedule, a longer off-season and more breaks for top players.

“Fans and tournaments deserve to see the top players and to be able to count on them to show up, but injuries and withdrawals from a season that overtaxes our players is hurting the fan experience,” Scott said. “Women’s professional tennis needs to enact bold reforms in the name of player health and the continued global growth of the game.

More: Taipei Times

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