Maria Sharapova (photo ©United Nations Development Programme) reached the final beating Ekaterina Makarova, Shahar Peer, she was lucky because Victoria Azarenka withdrew in the quarterfinals and in the semifinals she defeated Caroline Wozniacki. He lost only one set against Azarenka, in the other matches she was almost always dominant.
Samantha Stosur reached the final beating Iveta Benesova, Polona Hercog, Francesca Schiavone, Na Li without losing a set.
Both players seemed ready for Roland Garros, which starts in a week. The difference is that Maria Sharapova is slowly coming closer to the levels of a few years ago while for Samantha Stosur this season is so far worse than the last one and soon she’ll have to defend last year finals reached at the the French Open.
The final begins about three hours late because of rain. Samantha Stosur seems tense and struggle to serve well in the opening game. On the other hand Maria Sharapova is in her siberian tiger versione breaking the Australian’s serve twice to take a 4-0 lead. Stosur finally gets into the match, keeps her serve for the first time breaks Sharapova’s serve. The Russian however isn’t joking and she immediately breaks her opponent back then in the next game she closes the set 6-2.
At the beginning of the second set Sharapova continues to be aggressive and breaks Stosur’s serve. This time however the Australian reacts and breaks the Russian back and takes the first lead on 2-1. The balance doesn’t last long because in the fifth game Sharapova breaks her opponent again and takes the lead again. At this point the players keep their serves and the Russian wins the second set 6-4 conquering the match and the tournament. Her fiancé, basketball player Sasha Vujacic who cheered for her all week, can rejoice too.
Samantha Stosur’s serve was important during the tournament but today it was insufficient. In fact the Australian won only 52% of points on her first serve and 38% of points on her second serve.
Maria Sharapova served better than her opponents and in general hes shots were more effective so her clear victory is absolutely deserved.
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When Maria Sharapova got back to the activity in 2009 almost a year after having shoulder surgery there were doubts whether she could return to being one of the best players in the world. In particular she showed she had problems with her serve. Last year she won the Memphis and Strasbourg tournaments but honestly they cann’t be enough for a player who won three Grand Slam titles and was the number 1 in the WTA rankings.
The Rome tournament is a Premier and it’s by far the most important Maria Sharapova won since coming back. Clay isn’t the Russian’s favorite surface – Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam tournament she hasn’t won – but the last two tournaments she won were on this surface and only yesterday Sharapova inflicted on the number 1 in the WTA ranking Caroline Wozniacki a heavy defeat.
Having the real Maria Sharapova is important for women tennis, especially in this period when the Williams sisters aren’t playing and Kim Clijsters plays just a few tournaments. This year more than ever the race for the Roland Garros title is open: if Sharapova can play at this level serving so well it could be the right time for her to win it.
