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Sharapova Stops Henin for Australian Open Semi Berth
Posted on January 22, 2008
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Maria Sharapova was up against a 32-match win streak, a 6-2 head-to-head deficit and the world's No.1 player; but she overcame it all on Tuesday evening, and as Justine Henin sent one last backhand into the net the Russian star moved into her fourth straight Australian Open semi.
As if fueled by the odds, Sharapova came out firing, hitting serves and groundstrokes with power and precision reminiscent of her two previous Grand Slam title runs, at Wimbledon and the US Open. She began the match with a comfortable hold then broke Henin to go up 2-0, and held on to that break until Henin found herself serving to stay in the set trailing 5-2. Henin held then broke to close the gap to 5-4, but the first set comeback wouldn't continue so smoothly in the 10th game.
Serving at 30-all in that all-important game, Sharapova displayed her improved movement in running down a drop shot and hitting a forehand winner down the line, bringing up set point. She would smack a backhand return well wide on that point and then come up short on two more set points -- first a forehand error and then a Henin let cord that dribbled over and out of reach -- but on her fourth set point, the No.5-seeded Russian would curl a backhand crosscourt pass that drew a volley error from the top seed and put an end to the set.
Sharapova's confidence and aggression only grew from the first set victory and she was even more devastating in the second set, hitting 15 winners to just five errors and winning over twice as many points as Henin. All it took was 37 minutes for Sharapova to take the second set and a 64 60 upset triumph, as well as a spot in the final four of the year's first Grand Slam tournament.
"I think it was one of my most consistent matches, where I did all the things I wanted to do," Sharapova said. "I did them correctly from the beginning to the end, except having a little letdown in the end of that first set. But even though I had that letdown I still kept going, I kept fighting, and I was trying to get every single ball out there. I came into the match really prepared to play a three to four hour match. I was ready for it. I was mentally and physically ready for it."
"She just did everything better than me today; she served consistently, she was much more aggressive than me and it looked like it was her day and probably her tournament," Henin declared afterwards. "She played a very high level of tennis. She's in great shape and has a great chance to win the tournament."
While the dismissal of Henin was an upset on paper, given their form thus far in Melbourne it wasn't as much of a shocker. Through their first four matches, the greater numbers came from Sharapova, who put together a +40 differential of winners to errors while Henin came in at -23. Sharapova had also taken down some arguably higher-profile foes, including Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Elena Dementieva in the fourth round.
"I've been taking care of my side of the net. I was worried about what I had to do. I wasn't worried about what she was doing or what she was going to do. Sometimes you're worried about other things or what your opponent is doing, how she's winning points. I was just concentrating on what I had to do."
For Henin, the loss snapped a 32-match winning streak, the best on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since Venus Williams put together a run of 35 wins in the summer and fall of 2000. It was her worst loss in terms of games lost since the final of this event two years ago when she was forced to retire against Amelie Mauresmo trailing 61 20 due to gastrointestinal illness.
"It's the kind of day that happens sometimes," Henin commented. "She put me under a lot of pressure. I knew I had to play my best and I didn't. So it's tough to accept, but you have to. I'm going back home. It's a disappointment, for sure.
"It's hard to be at your best level all the time. I'll think about that and build again for the future."
Next up for Sharapova will be No.3 seed Jelena Jankovic, who took down No.7 seed and three-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams earlier in the day, 63 64. Sharapova is 2-1 lifetime against Jankovic, although the defeat did come in their last meeting, and both of her wins were three-setters.
"Previous matches don't count," Sharapova said. "This is a new encounter, a new match. This is really a great opportunity for both of us. I'm very excited about the match-up. Ever since the juniors we've always played really tough matches and it's great to see her in the semis. It's great we're playing together.
"The tournament isn't over. Even though I beat Justine, it's definitely not over. I still have a lot of business to take care of."
-- Courtesy Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
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