Preview: Maria Sharapova vs. Victoria Azarenka

The women’s final to be played today evening will be a match between two clones in more ways than one. The two girls have the following things in common – among the loudest grunts, fierce competitive nature and pumped-up on-court body language. Of course the 22 yrs old Victoria would have modeled these on the 24 yrs old Maria – a past master with three Slam titles already. The No.1 ranking is also on the line in today’s contest as the previous No.1 Caroline Wozniacki is set to plunge to No.4, deservingly. This would be Sharapova’s 5th Slam final while it would be Azarenka’s maiden Slam final.

If Azarenka wins the final, she would be only the third player to rise to the top ranking after her first Grand Slam win, following Martina Navratilova and Ana Ivanovic. A win for Sharapova would mark the fourth time in the Russian’s career that she will hold the top ranking.

Head to Head

The 2 girls are tied at 3-3. On hard courts it’s tied at 2-2. In 2 finals, Azarenka has got the better of the Russian on both the occasions. Sharapova won their most recent meeting, though.

If she wins, it would be in 3 sets

Player Quotes

Maria Sharapova

“Having been in the position before … I think, for me, it’s more about the Grand Slam win than the No. 1 ranking, That’s just always been the goal for me. It means so much to be back in a Grand Slam final, It’s nice to get that far again (here) after losing quite early in the last couple of years.” … on being in another Slam final

“With the shoulder, I knew some examples of some people that did not quite recover from surgery and that was a little frightening, but I really had no option, Of course it took a long time and it was a process, but it was just something that was in my steps that I had to go through. And I did.” … on her shoulder surgery and the recovery

“She’s a really, really good player, and I haven’t had great success against her in the last couple of events that we’ve played against each other,I’d really like to change that. It will be important to tactically play right. She makes you hit a lot of balls and she’s aggressive as well.” … on Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka

“It’s a battle for giving really your all and how well you can manage it, I know Maria’s game; she knows my game. So of course it’s going to be a little bit of a similarity there. It’s very different, you cannot really look back, It’s always difficult to play somebody you’ve beaten before. They have extra motivation to beat you.” … on the final and her recent success against Maria

“It’s no concern for me. I mean, I worked hard to be in this situation, so why stress about it? I want it and that’s what I’m looking for.” … on the no.1 ranking that comes along with the title

“I guess some people are just bored, They created that machine that can measure it. So money well spent, huh? Well, I’m not deaf, Of course I hear her. I’m sure she hears me. And about another 15,000 people hear us maybe even further away. But it doesn’t bother me.” … on the gruntometer and her infamous grunting match with Maria

“I had, how you call that, meltdowns? For sure, you can see some on YouTube. But I am growing as a player, I am growing as a person, and I am trying to learn from my mistakes and make it better. I’m proud of what I’m doing. I just want to keep going and keep raising that level.” … on her increased maturity levels

Prediction for the match

Sharapova will start as the favorite given her prior experience on the big stage. Azarenka will have a nervous start and if Maria makes more than her share of errors, Azarenka will bounce back soon enough. If Maria is having one of her error-free days, it would be a straight sets romp for her. Else, it would go to 3 sets and Azarenka will have more than a decent chance as she showed against Kim Clijsters.

If the erratic error shoes are worn by Maria, it’s going to be Azarenka lifting her maiden Slam in 3 sets. Else, a straight sets 4th Slam title for the Russian doll.