June 29, 2011
"Most people feel that from her history and the fact she's won here before, she has the edge mentally - and I don't think you can put a price on experience." - Mark Petchey Quotes of the week
Mark Petchey told Wimbledon Report that Maria Sharapova's experience makes her favourite for the Women's title at SW19.
The Russian won the tournament in 2004 and remains on course for a second All England Club crown after booking her place in this year's semi-finals.
Sharapova demolished Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-1 6-1 in the last eight on Tuesday.
And Petchey believes she could hold a psychological advantage over her rivals, all of whom are yet to make a Grand Slam final.
"In the last couple of matches, she (Sharapova) has come to the tournament with her A-game and she's already put a couple of opponents in their place quite comfortably," Petchey said.
"Most people feel that from her history and the fact she's won here before, she has the edge mentally - and I don't think you can put a price on experience.
"To be able to play under pressure is the key to everything; hitting the right shot at the right time and having the confidence in yourself to do the right things against an opponent that could be inspired as well. From that perspective, I think that's why she's favourite."
Composed
Fifth seed Sharapova will face wildcard Sabine Lisicki in the semi-finals after the 21-year-old defeated Marion Bartoli in a three-set epic.
Lisicki, the first German woman since Steffi Graf in 1999 to reach the last four of a Grand Slam, was blighted by injury last year.
But having overcome those woes, Petchey thinks Lisicki can defeat Sharapova - as long as she can handle the big stage.
"She's obviously had injuries, but you can see on the court she looks composed, she's got great time on the ball and an unbelievable serve," he said.
"If she can handle the occasion of being in the semi-final, then we should have a cracking match on our hands.
"You need weapons to go against the best players in the world; you can't go out there hoping they're going to play poorly, and Lisicki has that.
"But she's the big unknown quantity and being out there on semi-finals day on Centre Court against Maria Sharapova - how do you handle that? That's why you'd have to go with Sharapova."
Challenge
Sharapova is used to the grand stage, having added the 2006 US Open and the 2008 Australian Open to her Wimbledon success seven years ago.
The 24-year-old is also an advertisers' darling, earning millions of dollars a year through endorsements.
But Petchey says he is not surprised that despite all her off-court interests, Sharapova is still at the forefront of female tennis.
"Money has never been the motivating force, it's been the challenge," added Petchey.
"Winning the titles has been great, but even that has been fairly brief in terms of the euphoria. It's the challenge of taking on the best and coming back from injuries, as Maria's had to.
"You look at Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] and they don't need to pick up a racket for the rest of their life, but they are out there and you can see them being out there for a substantial time.
"That's what drives Maria, her competitiveness."
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