Petra Kvitova vs. Maria Sharapova semifinal pre-match analysis

7
Wilson Blade 9

Our busy tennis fan and loyal contributor Omair has already provided us with a preview of the first Australian Open semifinal on the schedule, the one between Victoria Azarenka and Kim Clijsters, and now let’s see Omair’s preview of the semifinal clash between Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova.

When Kvitova and Sharapova meet for their semifinal, a lot of things will be out there on the line. They are both aware that whoever emerges victorious out of this encounter will keep alive her hope of attaining the top spot. Whoever wins the Australian Open other than Kim Clijsters will be the world No.1 when the rankings are released on Monday.

Sharapova has so far made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open four times (excluding this year’s result), and has gone to the final twice. The two times she lost in the semis it was in three sets: in 2005 to eventual champion Serena Williams and in 2006 to Justine Henin. Will she make it to the finals this time and keep her hopes of regaining the top spot alive or will she bow out to the Czech power tower Kvitova?

As for Kvitova, this is her third Grand Slam semifinal and her first at the Australian Open. How will she fare in Melbourne? She obviously has the experience of playing and winning at the biggest stages of tennis, so she will not be fazed by the stage tomorrow.

So far Sharapova and Kvitova have faced each other three times, with Kvitova leading their head-to-head 2-1, although one of those victories came via retirement when Sharapova twisted her ankle at Tokyo last year in her match against Kvitova. However, Kvitova’s other win came at the biggest stage of tennis, at the Wimbledon Centre Court in the championship match and she did that in style, beating Sharapova in straight sets. Will Sharapova be able to take revenge, only time will tell us.

Let’s have a look at what the numbers tell us about their chances:

The stats tell us that Kvitova is not a great returner and she has not been very good at winning points on her second serve, and she will have to take into consideration that Sharapova is a great returner.

Kvitova will have to keep her serve under control, she will have to be more patient with points. Masha has an upper hand in the break point conversion ratio and the points won on the first and the second serves, but Kvitova comes on top when we look at the winners-UE differential.

There is not much that separates these two. What will be crucial in the match-up of two Wimbledon champions, one reigning and one former, will be how Kvitova wins points on her second serve, and how Sharapova’s serve holds up.

Both Sharapova and Kvitova have so far lost one set in the tournament. However, Kvitova had concentration lapses in some of her matches and had problem in closing out the match, which will also be very crucial in her match against Sharapova.

Can Kvitova hold up her game long enough to outlast Sharapova or will it be Sharapova’s day? If both are on fire, we all will be in for a treat. Who do you think will emerge out on top and who will you be rooting for? (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

7 COMMENTS

  1. No matter how much i’d like to see Maria winning a slam again, I think Kvitova will win this match. Right now, if she keeps her focus of course, she is a better player. But we can always count on Maria to fight till the end. 🙂

  2. The stats from their previous matches would seem to favour Sharapova but i’m going for Kvitova to win in 2 tight sets. Both these semi-finals could really go either way so I hope for 2 great matches!

  3. I think it is pretty equal between those two. Maria has an advantage because of the surface. Anyway, I think Kim Clijsters is winning the whole thing.

  4. I would love Sharapova to win the whole tourney. I love that she came back from surgery and is back among the elite. It is fantastic for tennis. I do wish her shreik would disappear :-). Love to have sharapova-clijster final – one last great battle for Kim in AUS.

  5. i’m sory marija, and all of u who have doubt in maria, but she is win today. the fact is petra is a new comer and maria is a veteran. this is not the first time for maria to face someone whom many people think is great. but she has beaten them all. (justine, serena, venus, kim, amelie, lindsay, etc)

    and i always love the way maria believe in herself and the way she put respect in her opponent. i watch petra interview before semifinal match and i smell a little arogantness which is not a good sign. soon i knew she will lose her match today. she has underestimate maria. i hope in the future she will never forget maria is one of the best player on hardcourt. if she wants to beat her, she has to put some respect on her

  6. Omair has done another outstanding job with the statistics!! Thank you again!

    I’m very happy with my top 10 picks for the year. Four of my top 5 were in the semi’s, and my top 2 picks are fighting it out in the finals in Australia. There are many matches to go. Looking forward to an exciting tennis year with all of the great players capable of beating each other on any given day.

    My favorite player, Alla Kudryavtseva, and her doubles partner Kat Makarova made it to their first major quaterfinal. Also, Kat made it to her first major single quarterfinal!! She beat Serena Williams along the way.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here