Maria Sharapova: 10 Reasons She Should Be a Lock for the US Open Crown

It has been a remarkable resurgent year for the Russian beauty who prefers blood, sweat and tears to the fashion runway.

Her recovery from shoulder surgery is now a distant memory and this year, Maria Sharapova even managed to shine on European clay where she won a title in Rome and advanced to the semifinals at Stade Roland Garros––a new personal best.

The Russian’s appearance in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open—before falling to the eventual championship Li Na of China—was a harbinger of better things to come.

On the grass courts of Wimbledon, Sharapova continued her improvement, making it to the final where she faced newcomer Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Although most picked Sharapova to win the Wimbledon title because of her experience in winning majors––including her Wimbledon title win in 2004—Kvitova simply paid no attention to the pundits or the odds makers and beat Sharapova in the finals.

Initially, it looked as though Sharapova would win. She began the match by breaking the Czech in the opening game chiefly on a pair of Kvitova forehand errors. Eventually the superior power and shot-making of the Czech won out and she served for the set and the match.

However, there was a pattern in play as Sharapova advanced first to the the French Open semifinals followed by the Wimbledon finals. 

The next logical step for Sharapova should be US Open Champion.

10. Playing on DecoTurf: The Synthetic Sidewalks of New York

While it is true that Sharapova had her best year ever on clay—winning at Rome and reaching the semifinals of the 2011 French Open—grass and hard court surfaces are the Russian’s forte.

Currently one of the favorites to win the 2011 US Open championship, Sharapova must be regarded as a front-runner partly because the US Open is played on hard courts—in this case, DecoTurf—providing the perfect foundation for Sharapova's game.

Hard court surfaces are more conducive to the strength of her game because the former US Open champion serves big and is not afraid to move forward and be aggressive when necessary.

Sharapova 

won the US Open title in 2006 but has not managed to return to a final at Arthur Ashe Stadium since.

Missing the Open in 2008 because of her shoulder injury, Sharapova's return to form has taken her almost three years.

Sharapova, however, made it back into the women's Top Five following her trip to the final at the 2011 Wimbledon championship in July.  Taking the next step, the new world No. 4 will be looking to return to the championship circle at the conclusion of this year's US Open tournament.

9. Her Need To Be the Best to Ever Play the Game

No one could ever accuse Maria Sharapova of being wishy-washy. The woman is not only beautiful and talented, she has a plan––a blueprint of what she wishes to accomplish and when she wishes to accomplish it.

Right now, while she is still young and athletically gifted, what Sharapova wants most is to win and reestablish herself at the top of the women’s game in tennis. 

This has been Sharapova’s life-long dream since she first journeyed to the United States with her father at age six in 1994 to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.

Although she is famous for her beauty, sought after for modeling and commercials, which do bring her considerable fame and wealth, reaching the No. 1 ranking and winning majors are the order of the day.

At just 24 years old, winning the US Open for a second time would place Sharapova once again at the top of women’s tennis.



8. The Waning Years of the Williams Sisters

Venus Williams has played in only three tournaments so far in 2011 due to various injuries. The last tournament the 32-year-old competed in was the 2011 Wimbledon Championship.

Serena Williams will turn 30 in September and while the younger Williams sister seems fit and as threatening to the rest of the field as ever, Serena's years of domination cannot extend forever.

Even with both sisters out of commission for most of 2011, it was a shock to the tennis-playing world that Venus and Serena Williams went out in the third round of Wimbledon in 2011. Still, this had to be a huge relief to the women who remained in the draw.

Venus comes into the US Open with no match play on hard courts. Serena, on the other hand, came back after Wimbledon to take trophies at both Stanford and Toronto, before she retired during the tournament in Cincinnati. Serena will be a favorite to win the 2011 US Open title.

The two women who dominated women's tennis in the 2000s will both be over 30 years of age soon. While that is by no means a death sentence, it will propel the sisters to retirement and other interests.

Sharapova, on the other hand, is finding her game again, and she is only 24 years of age with plenty of time to stake her claim on the No. 1 ranking and reign at the top of women's tennis.

At this year's US Open, Sharapova can only meet Venus Williams in the semifinals and Serena in the finals—should both advance that far. Neither sister has that much match play coming into the US Open, which makes Sharapova's odds of winning even better.

7. A Decade's Worth of Experience

The 6’2'' Russian beauty is just 24, but it feels like she has been around forever.

That is because Sharapova has been winning majors since she was 17 years old, turning professional a decade ago at age 14.

Sharapova won her first major at Wimbledon in 2004 defeating Serena Williams in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

Her second major came at the US Open in 2006 with Sharapova upending Justine Henin, 6-4, 6-4. 

Finally, Sharapova won her third major at the Australian Open in 2008 when she outplayed the Serb Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-3.

In total, Sharapova has won 24 career singles titles including three Grand Slam wins. Her overall win-loss record is 408-100.

2011 will mark Sharapova’s eighth try at the US Open Championships. Play gets underway on Monday, August 29 with the No. 3 seed facing Great Britain's Heather Watson. The Russian should prevail easily in this match.

Sharapova will use her years of experience to build on her chances to win the 2011 US Open championship.

6. Lack of Depth of Power Hitters in the Women's Game

With the on-again, off-again status of the Williams sisters, whose appearances on the tennis stage are recently fewer and farther between, no player has dominated by winning consecutive majors.

Venus is 32 and Serena will turn 30 next month. In addition to their frequent absences, they may not bounce back quite as quickly as they once did, although Serena seems fully fit these days and in excellent shape.

Kim Clijsters, the current world No. 3, had won the two most recent majors on hard courts before suffering a severe ankle sprain that kept her out of the French Open. A further ankle injury caused the Belgian to pull out of Wimbledon and the 2011 US Open as well.

Clijsters seems to be hinting at retiring again after the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London.

Since Henin’s first retirement in 2008, the majors have been primarily dominated by Serena Williams, except, of course, for the French Open.

During this same post-Henin period newcomers Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka rose to the top. This occurred while former newcomers Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic suffered depressing Serbian slumps and former top-ranked Dinara Safina melted away.

None of these women won majors except for Ivanovic who captured the French Open in 2008.

The women’s game is ready for another power hitter besides Serena Williams. Sharapova should regain her edge and compete full-out for major titles before the newest batch of power hitters like Petra Kvitova and Sabine Lisicki take center stage.

5. Doing What It Takes To Win: Mind over Matter

I was struck by the actions of Marion Bartoli when she ordered her parents to leave the court during the French woman's Wimbledon match with Flavia Pennetta. That seemed unusual, but Bartoli did it to motivate herself to win.

That drive to win is also very much a part of Maria Sharapova's mental make up. Other high-profile players may not have persevered while waiting for their shoulder to heal and for their game to return to where it was before surgery—especially if the player made millions modeling and endorsing products. It would have been easy to call it quits on the tennis career.

The Russian Sharapova went out with a shoulder injury after the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. She returned full-time to the tour just prior to the 2009 French Open, where she did exceptionally well after being out of action for such an extended period.

During her absence, however, Sharapova’s ranking dropped out of the top 100, falling as far as No. 126.

Speculation continued about her ability to return to action at all and some believed that her career might be over at just 22 years of age. Certainly a shoulder injury would weaken her serve—the essential piece of her game.

By changing her service motion, utilizing a more compact back swing, Maria hoped to reduce the stress on her shoulder, but her serve remained fairly ineffective and her game suffered.

Since her return to the game in 2009, Sharapova has struggled while working hard on her game, improving week by week.

Her double fault totals continued to astound the commentators, but Sharapova never quit in her attempt to regain her serve and make her way back to the top of the women’s game.

After almost three years, her decision to fight her way back into form is now big paying dividends.

4. The Sharapova Serve

Sharapova’s tennis arsenal is built upon a powerful first and second serve. The Russian has blasted serves in excess of 120 mph, counting on service winners and their subsequent weak responses to allow her to take control of the ensuing rally. 

Her serve has always been the springboard for the rest of her game, but when Sharapova suffered a rotator cuff tear back in 2008, it reduced the effectiveness of her serve. The result was an overabundance of double faults as the Russian struggled to put the ball in play.

The source of her problem, however, was not discovered until late summer of 2008. Eventually, surgery on the shoulder required a long layoff from tennis.

For a long time, the tennis world speculated about the ability of Sharapova to maintain her place at the top of the women’s game. Without her serve, the Russian’s game went nowhere.

The tennis media began to wonder about Sharapova’s ability to return to the game at all. Was she finished in tennis? Certainly the shoulder injury had to weaken her serve—the essential piece of her game.

Since her return to the game, Sharapova has struggled with double faults and unforced errors, but lately the serve of old has reemerged and her tenacity in the pocket, going for the big serve has seen Sharapova shoot back up the rankings ladder.

The serve is back. Just in time for the 2011US Open.

3. A New and Retooled Return Game

As Sharapova's own service game falters at times, she has been able to compensate for occasional lapses by developing an excellent return game. Currently, she leads the women's tour on return points won on an opponent's first serve at 44 percent.

For Sharapova, the return game is key, and she integrates the practice of service return into her daily regimen.

Excelling at returning serves requires good scouting and paying careful attention on court to an opponent's serve. Concentration and making good decisions on court are key ingredients.

Sharapova's ability to pounce on the opposition's serve and return balls with pace and depth were a deciding factor in her final win over Jelena Jankovic at Cincinnati. The ability to break the Jankovic serve regularly allowed Sharapova to hang on long enough to win the championship match.

This prowess at returning makes Sharapova's play even more dangerous when she does serve well.

Both elements of Sharapova's game, serving and returning, will need to be working well for her to capture her second US Open championship.

2. Unflappable Concentration During Matches

Of the women’s top-ranked players today, few possess enough mental fortitude to take possession of a match and refusing to lose, except the long-legged Sharapova.

The world No. 4 plays right-handed, employing a two-handed backhand. Much of her power comes from her unorthodox swing volley when approaching the net.

Sharapova plays with enormous aggression going for her shots regardless of the score. The Russian never gives in to any situation on court with a safe “not to lose” attitude.

Favoring the liquid surfaces—hard court and grass—Sharapova's game comes alive as the balls fly fast and hard.

With deceptive foot speed, Sharapova plays the angles, sharp and deep with tremendous power and accuracy. In 2008, she added a sliced backhand and experimented with a drop shot.

Plus, she never quits. Sharapova never gives up on a set, a game or a point. She fights completely committed for every moment the ball is in play.

If she double faults or gets a bad call, Sharapova is not deterred––she does not get down on herself or discouraged. She simply reloads and moves on. 

No one has a greater will to win enhanced by the ability to concentrate solely on the point at hand than Sharapova.

That is mental fortitude and you need a large supply of it to win championships.

1. Her 2011 US Open Draw

First and foremost, Maria Sharapova avoided having either Williams sister drawn into her quarter. That alone was worth a big sigh of relief.

Sharapova's first-round opponent is Great Britain's Heather Watson. The 19-year-old is having a good year and is currently ranked at No. 104—her highest ranking to date. She has no singles titles to her credit, but very early in the year Watson reached the quarterfinals at both Memphis and Auckland. Still, Sharapova will have no problems handling Watson and moving on to the second-round.

In the second round, Sharapova will meet either Anastasiya Yakimova from Bulgaria or qualifier Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand. It would seem likely that the No. 3 seed would face Yakimova and even more likely that the Bulgarian will offer little resistance to Sharapova who will move on to round three.

Sharapova's third-round opponent will more than likely be Italian Flavia Pennetta, seeded No. 26. This will be a more difficult matchup because Pennetta can rush Sharapova into mistakes. The Russian will have to be on her best but should prevail over Pennettta to advance to the fourth-round.

In the fourth round, Sharapova will probably face (19) Julia Goerges or (13) Shuai Peng. Either of these two players will present Sharapova with a very tough match.

This will be a day when the No. 3 seed will pray that her serve is working well. Sharapova's head-to-head with Goerges is 2-0, while her head-to-head with Peng is 3-1 with Peng's solitary win coming in Beijing. However, Sharapova should move on to the quarterfinals.

No doubt Sharapova's quarterfinal match will be against Petra Kvitova who defeated her for the 2011 Wimbledon crown. This is when the tournament becomes worthy of its status as a major. These two ladies have played twice, splitting their head to head. While Kvitova carried the day at the All England Club final this year, Sharapova had defeated the Czech at Memphis in 2010 during the semifinals.

Kvitova has not done particularly well on the US hard courts, but she has the game to succeed on any surface. This will be a very difficult match for Sharapova to win.

In the semifinals—should Sharapova survive against Kvitova—the opponent could be Vera Zvonareva, Sabine Lisicki or Venus Williams.

The final perhaps leads to Sharapova vs. Serena Williams?

There are no obvious pitfalls in the early going, and Sharapova should go far in the 2011 US Open with a very good chance of surviving and winning the championship match.