July 28, 2011
Russian superstar Maria Sharapova has finally returned to the elite group in women's tennis with her fabulous runs in Rome and Wimbledon. Will Stanford bring title glory on hardocurts for the Russian?
Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova takes on Slovakian giant-killer Daniela Hantuchova for a place in the next round of the 2011 Bank of the West Classic, a WTA premier event being played here in Stanford, USA.
Three time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova is enjoying a successful second inning after a career-threatening shoulder injury that kept her off court for almost a year. This season, Sharapova's biggest success came on Roman clay when she beat Samantha Stosur to win the BNL d'Italia title. More success followed on the green grass of Wimbledon where she made her second final before falling to Petra Kvitova. Seeded second here in Stanford, Sharapova is attempting to better her 2010 performance by clinching the title.
Sharapova's opponent, Daniela Hantuchova returned to the winner's circle this year by winning the PTT Pattaya Open in February after which she attained great results in Strasbourg, Birmingham and Roland Garros where she beat top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Hantuchova is ranked 21 in the world at the moment and has 4 WTA singles titles to her name.
Both players have met a total of eight times before and Sharapova has an overwhelming 7-1 lead. In the pair's previous meeting in Indian Wells three years ago, Sharapova posted a hard earned straight sets win.
By the virtue of her fabulous runs on clay and grass, the Russian star is confidently prepared for the hardcourt tussle. However, her opponent, boasts of four titles on the tough surface herself, which is why this match is bound to produce high quality of tennis. Sharapova, though has an edge and is likely to close the deal after three sets of struggle.
TennisEarth.com's Pick - Daniela Hantuchova in three closely contested sets.
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