Good Form Will Lead Maria Sharapova to 2nd Australian Open Title, No. 1 Ranking
Maria Sharapova carried her good form into the Australian Open with a first round-win over Petra Martic, and it is this form that will see the Russian win her second Open in Melbourne.
Round 1 of the Open produced plenty of shocks as eight of the women's seeds were knocked out, including fifth-seed Ana Ivanovic.
Sharapova ensured she was not amongst the casualties with a 6-4, 6-1 win, easing into the match before a strong finish ended Martic's hopes of a happy 24th birthday.
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Sharapova produced two aces and won around 90 percent of the points on her first serve early on. The win is her 166th Grand Slam draw victory, behind only the Williams sisters amongst players currently active.
The 27-year-old warmed up for the Open by winning the Brisbane International title, dropping just one set in four matches.
Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), Sharapova said: "I played four good matches against very different types of opponents. Couldn't have asked for better preparation."
Her win in Brisbane came after a successful 2014 season, in which she won four titles, including the French Open.
Now Sharapova has set her sights on Melbourne and regaining her No. 1 ranking.
Speaking to Michael Beattie of AusOpen.com ahead of the tournament, she said: "I'm hungry. I lost in the fourth round here—that's not a result I want. I'm here to try and win the title."
Ahead of Sharapova lies a tough route to the title but one that she can handle.
In the quarter-finals, the Russian will likely meet Eugenie Bouchard.
Seventh-seed Bouchard is a strong up-and-comer, but the Canadian has endured very mixed form after reaching the Wimbledon final last year.
Bouchard lost half of her 18 matches subsequently, five to players ranked 15th or lower. At the WTA Finals in Singapore, she lost all three of her matches and won just 11 games in that time.
If they meet, Bouchard will be unlikely to get her first win over Sharapova.
Barring an upset, third-seed Simona Halep will be Sharapova's opponent in the semi-final. Halep is yet to beat the Russian in five attempts.
Like Sharapova, Halep prepared for the tournament with a title win, hers the Shenzhen Open in China.
However, despite Halep's form, Sharapova has the edge over the 23-year-old. The Romanian's second serve is a weak point in her game and one that Sharapova has taken advantage of before, at Roland Garros last year.
This weakness plays right into Sharapova's hands, as her powerful forehand is perfect for punishing weak serves. Per Agence France-Presse (via NDTV Sports), Halep admitted to being "very nervous" prior to her opening game in Melbourne, and this could count against her in the later stages of the Slam.
Until Halep irons out this deficiency and controls her nerves, she's unlikely to beat Sharapova.
Sharapova's toughest game will, of course, be the final, where she could face top seed and five-time Australian winner Serena Williams.
However, Williams has not won the title in Melbourne for five years. The American is not in sparkling form either. At the 2015 Hopman Cup, Williams lost two of her four singles matches, losing six sets in that time.
The 33-year-old won her opening match 6-0, 6-4, but after a comfortable first set, she struggled for rhythm and became visibly and audibly frustrated as the match wore on.
The world No. 1 has always been quite highly strung, but after also smashing her racket in the Hopman Cup mixed-doubles final (below), it raises the question as to whether she can keep her cool against tough opponents like Sharapova.
Sharapova has a poor head-to-head record against the 18-time Grand Slam winner, but with age catching up on Williams and their respective form going into the tournament, Sharapova has a great chance of emerging victorious.
Williams, of course, has plenty of great performances left in her. For most of her career, she's been head and shoulders above the rest, but she's not the unstoppable force she once was.
Sharapova is ready to step into the void, starting in Melbourne.
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