On Saturday at 3:30 AM EST, World #1 Serena Williams and World #2 Maria Sharapova will face off in the Women's Singles Final of the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year. Serena Williams comes into this match having beaten Maria Sharapova 15 straight times, making her the odds on favorite to win this match. However, this is still a very interesting and intriguing match given how both players have played over the course of this tournament as well as the past calendar year.
The main point I want to get across is that Maria Sharapova absolutely has a chance of winning this match. She just needs to adjust her game and more importantly believe that she can win. I used to think that Maria Sharapova just didn't have the game to beat Serena Williams, but upon watching her play over the past 18 months, I realize that she does have the game to beat Serena Williams, she just hasn't had the belief.
I cannot really break down the "belief" aspect of all this, but I can break down some of the things that Sharapova needs to do to win this match. The first thing she needs to do is extend the rallies and not try to out-muscle Serena Williams. Part of Maria's issue has been that like Serena Williams, she is a power player who is used to dictating the points. Maria needs to understand that she can't win short rallies with Serena, but instead needs to extend the rallies and force Serena into making some unforced errors.
Secondly, Maria Sharapova needs to be making her first serves and winning her service games. She has just as good of a serve as anybody else on the WTA tour and needs to use that to her advantage. If Maria is on point with her serves and gets those easy points, her odds of winning this match go up a ton. If on the other hand she takes a lot of second serves and double-faults, she'll be doomed.
Lastly, Maria Sharapova needs to capitalize on her break point chances, especially when Serena Williams gives her a second serve. The most important points in tennis are opportunities to break your opponent's serve. If Maria can break Serena's serve when she gets the chance, odds are very good she'll win this match.
As for Serena Williams, she needs to come out guns blazing with a ton of aggression. Serena knows that she has been in Maria Sharapova's head for a long time and that she can psyche out Maria Sharapova with her power and aggression. The longer the match goes, the more Maria Sharapova will believe she has a chance. Serena needs to keep the points short and try to pounce on Maria Sharapova for a quick 3-0 lead. If Serena Williams can take the first set 6-2, 6-1, or 6-0, the match will essentially be over.
There really isn't much else Serena Williams needs to do. She just needs to take away any belief that Maria Sharapova has in herself. This match in many ways is as much of a mental war as it is a physical war on the tennis court. If Sharapova believes she can win and maintains that belief throughout the match, it will be a very close match. If Sharapova on the other hand loses all hope, then Serena Williams will steamroll her as usual.
What is my prediction for this match? I predict that Maria Sharapova will win. I picked her to win the Australian Open in my preview and I'll stick with it. Now, that being stated, I did say that Serena Williams wouldn't reach the Final, but all the same, I'll stick with my pick and say that Maria Sharapova will end her drought against Serena Williams and capture her 6th career grand slam title.
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @atp_guy for tennis news
No comments:
Post a Comment