Thirtieth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated defending champion and second seed Maria Sharapova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the US Open 2007. Wow!
The biggest favorites for the title (Jankovic, Ivanovic, Henin, the Williams sisters) Sharapova couldn’t have faced before the final, since they are all in the upper half of the draw. But it seems that the draw was not easy enough for the Russian.
Sharapova didn’t display her best tennis in the match against the teenager from Krakow, as she made 12 double faults, and 49 unforced errors, while winning only 23% of the points on her second serve. The problems with the serve may be caused by the fact that she had to change her service motion because of a shoulder injury which has been bothering her during most part of the season.
What made me a bit frightened: As Sharapova’s exit from the US Open 2007 became ever more evident, her father Yuri Sharapov slowly packed up and left the stands. Was he angry at his daughter, or just felt sick? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t like to be in Maria’s shoes right now.
A look from the bright side: Sharapova at least had a chance to debut both of her much talked about Nike dresses.
Another big challenge is ahead of Radwanska, who has won one title this season, a Tier IV tournament in Stockholm. She will next play against the winner of the Nicole Vaidisova vs. Shahar Peer match.