January 22, 2011
Sharapova's draw has opened up with the injury to Venus Williams.
Maria Sharapova is into the 4th round of the 2011 Australian Open and she should have firm hopes of making the quarterfinals. If Sharapova can do that it will be for only the second time since she returned from her shoulder injury problems in 2009.
Sharapova's opponent on Day 7 is Andrea Petkovic, a near stranger to fourth round Grand Slam matches. Prior to this season's Australian Open, Petkovic, of Germany, had only made one 4th round match in a major although that was at the recent 2010 US Open.
She is a player that has come on more and more in the last year and she is good enough to threaten Sharapova in their match.
The two players have only met once before although the meeting was recent and it was on the hard court surface. Sharapova eliminated Petkovic from the round of 32 at WTA Cincinnati last summer in what was a very one sided match (6-3, 6-1).
Sunday's Australian Open match is likely on Sharapova's racket as she is the better pure talent. She's inconsistent at this point in her career but she definitely summoned something up against Julia Goerges in the third round, as that German player is also improving on tour.
Sharapova never gives up and she has the skills and physical attributes to overpower anybody when she's on her game. She has not been a top 10 player since returning in 2009 but if she can barge her way into the semifinals, she'll silence some critics.
Petkovic might not be able to win this match at this point in her career and French Open fans will remember her meltdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova last year. Sharapova, if she keeps the double faults to a minimum, should be into the quarters where she would face the winner between Na Li and Victoria Azarenka.
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