US Open 2011 Draw: Previewing Maria Sharapova's Draw

Maria Sharapova has been placed in the third quarter of the 2011 US Open women's singles draw. How does the path ahead look for her?

The third seed is gunning for her second US Open crown after winning the tournament for the first time in 2006. She is also coming off a stellar summer in which she reached the final of Wimbledon and won the Cincinnati Masters.

Sharapova is one of the favorites to win at Flushing Meadows. Here's a preview of her side of the draw and the opponents she could face in each round en route to the title:

First Round

Sharapova has been drawn with Great Britain's Heather Watson in the first round. The duo have never played each other before.

Watson, who won the juniors title here in 2009, won't exactly be a walkover for Sharapova.

The 19-year-old Watson broke into the top-100 earlier this year when she won her first Grand Slam match at the French Open. Also, she's got nothing to lose against the world No. 4.

It must be remembered that Sharapova met another British teenager, Laura Robson, in the second round of Wimbledon this year and barely scraped through that encounter.

The Russian will know better than to take this encounter lightly.

Second Round

Sharapova could then face world No. 84 Anastasiya Yakimova in the second round.

Sharapova has played the Belarusian only once in her career, in the first round of the 2009 French Open. Sharapova had to come back from one set down to win that match 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Another opponent not to be taken lightly.

Third Round

In the third round, Sharapova could be up against Italy's Flavia Pennetta, who is ranked 27th in the world.

However, Pennetta is the top-ranked women's doubles player in the world and won her first ever Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open this year.

Pennetta has also reached the quarterfinals of the US Open singles event on two occasions.

Sharapova leads their head-to-head encounters 2-1. However, Pennetta had won the last match they played together in Los Angeles two years back.

France's Aravane Rezai and American Melanie Oudin are other prospects in this round.

Fourth Round

Up next for Sharapova could be China's Shuai Peng.

The Chinese 13th seed has a knack for upsetting top-10 players, and has defeated Sharapova once in their four encounters.

Sharapova and Peng have already met twice this year. Their first meeting was in the fourth round of Indians Wells where Sharapova took two hours and 22 minutes to beat Peng 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Their second encounter, at Wimbledon, resulted in a relatively straightforward win for the Russian—6-4, 6-2.

Sharapova could also face 19th seed Julia Goerges in this round. The German provided stiff resistance to Sharapova in the two matches they've played together.

Quarterfinals

The US Open women's quarterfinals could see a rematch of this year's Wimbledon final, with Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitová pitted in the same quarter.

Sharapova, who lost the Wimbledon final to the 21-year-old Czech last month, will fancy her chances this time around. Kvitová hasn't been able to reproduce her Wimbledon form post the grass-court season and was also suffering from a thigh muscle injury recently.

However, the Czech seems to have regained her fitness for the US Open and has a tendency to step up her game on big occasions.

Kvitová has a fairly easy draw until the quarters, with Agnieszka Radwańska and Yanina Wickmayer being the only top-20 players on collision course.

A rematch of the Wimbledon final will be quite the spectacle at Flushing Meadows.

Semifinals

Sharapova's most likely opponents in the semifinals could be either Marion Bartoli, Venus Williams, Samantha Stosur or Vera Zvonareva. Let's analyse all four matchups:

Marion Bartoli: Sharapova has beaten Bartoli on all four occasions the duo have played each other. 

However, the Frenchwoman is on a roll this year having reached the semifinals of the French Open, the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the final of the Bank of West Classic in Stanford.

Bartoli did lose in the first round of the Rogers Cup and the third round of Cincinnati, but you never know when she'll start bouncing around and knock you off!

Venus Williams: Sharapova and Williams are tied 3-3 on head-to-head matchups. The last time the duo faced each other was two years back in Stanford.

Williams has spent the majority of the season on the sidelines due to injury and illness. After getting knocked out in the fourth round of Wimbledon, Venus missed the start of the hard court season due to a viral infection. She has, however, confirmed her participation at the US Open and is unseeded.

An unfit Venus is definitely a preferred opponent to a fully fit Venus. Sharapova would like her chances.

Samantha Stosur: Australian No. 10 seed Sam Stosur has had an impressive start to the hard court season with an appearance in the final of the Rogers Cup where she lost to Serena Williams. Stosur then reached the quarters of Cincinnati where she met Sharapova.

Sharapova won that match in straight sets and has never lost to the Australian in their NINE encounters. The form she's in, it's most likely to reach double digits if they meet in the last four.

Vera Zvonareva: After reaching the final at Carlsbad, world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva got knocked out of the Rogers Cup in the third round itself.

The Russian picked herself up and made it to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open, where she was up against...yeah, you guessed it right...Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova won the match in three sets and has won their last three encounters. She leads their head-to-head record 7-3.

But Zvonareva was a finalist at the US Open last year and will surely be looking to go the extra mile this time around. Expect an exciting, evenly contested match.

Final

So, if Sharapova does get past the ladies mentioned above, she could be part of a dream final against Serena Williams.

Even though the upper half of the draw does feature other big shots such as Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Li Na, Serena is a clear favorite to emerge victorious from that group with the form she's in right now.

After being knocked out of Wimbledon in the fourth round by Marion Bartoli, Williams exacted revenge on the Frenchwoman by beating her in the final at Stanford.

Serena then went on to lift the Rogers Cup two weeks later, beating Stosur to the title.

Serena enjoys a comfortable 7-2 lead over Sharapova in head-to-head matchups. The two times Sharapova got the better of the American was back in 2004.

However, it must be remembered that Serena withdrew from the Cincinnati Open this month due to an aggravation of her toe injury. She has confirmed participation for the US Open, but it will be interesting to see if she is able to regain full fitness prior to the start of the tournament.

Verdict

If Sharapova and Williams do meet in the final, it sure will be a blockbuster of a match. Tennis fans, Sharapova included, will be hoping that it is a fully fit Williams that appears in the final.

Sharapova does have problems with her serve, which cost her the Wimbledon title. But more importantly, after winning Cincinnati, she does seem to have gotten her confidence back, which had gone astray post her shock third-round Rogers Cup exit.

After winning the US Open for the first time in 2006, Sharapova has never made it past the fourth round.

The Russian, who, at the age of seven, migrated from her homeland to Florida to play tennis, enjoys a lot of support in New York.

With last year's winner, Kim Clijsters, out of the picture and the two women seeded above her (Wozniacki and Zvonareva) not playing their best tennis, Sharapova knows that this is her best chance to get her name written on the trophy again.

Here's to a fantabulous tournament!