May 28, 2011
In an exhilarating third-round showdown of the 2011 French Open, seventh-seed Maria Sharapova will take on Taiwanese tennis ace Yung-jan Chan, who is ranked 129 in WTA. The way Sharapova gave into initial jitters in her last match, this time she will have to be extra careful against Chan, who is producing the best results of career on red-soil of late.
Though, Maria Sharapova held on to her No. 1 position for substantial period of time, there is always some sort of uncertainly associated with this Russian powerhouse of tennis. Sharapova does it more often to keep her fans guessing about what will come next. The Russian looked completely down and out in her last match against inspired Caroline Garcia trailing at 3-6 1-4 , before she rallied with those deafening grunts to produce a win in the end with a 3-6 6-4 6-0 scoreline.
Now, Sharapova will take on World No. 129 Yung-jan Chan of Taiwan to secure her berth in the last 32 of the tournament. Yung-jan has been enjoying her best run ever at the Roland Garros. She earned a straight-sets victory with a 6-1, 6-4 in 77 minutes over Jill Craybas on Thursday to come this far in the tournament.
The unseeded Taiwanese ace, had never won a singles match on the red-soil at Roland Garros prior to this year. By earning this victory, Chan became Taiwan's second player to come this far in the women's singles at the Roland Garros. Earlier, Wang Shi-ting made it into the third round of the French Open in 1994 and 1995.
Sharapova won 23rd WTA title of her career in Rome, a few days ago and sent a strong message to her rivals that she is back into business. In fact, Sharapvoa has improved a lot from last season and rebounded nicely into Top 10 of the world. The Russian can complete her career slam by winning the French Open this year.
Sharapova leads the head-to-head records with a 2-0 over Chan. Last time they met in 2007 in the opening round at Wimbledon where Sharapova thrashed Chan in straight sets. When asked about this huge contest of her career, Chan said, "I've lost both of my previous matches against her, but she's not at her best on clay. I've played on centre court so I won't feel any pressure or be scared."
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