June 01, 2011
Both Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Li Na of China are in search of their first Grand Slam titles. The player that wins will make her first career semifinal appearance at Roland Garros.
In a French Open that saw the top three seeds fall in the first week, Azarenka, the top-seeded woman left in the draw, has been as stable as a rock. She has yet to drop a set and has played high-quality tennis overall. Azarenka’s powerful backhand and aggressive play overpowered her first four opponents, but the key to her success has been her improved serving. Although serving is still not the strongest part of her game, Azarenka has been landing serves with more authority. Durability is also a concern for Azarenka, as she has been forced to retire early from three different tournaments in 2011, due to a medley of leg, shoulder, and elbow injuries.
Li has clawed her way into the quarterfinals, where she will continue her search for her first career WTA clay-court title. Down 0-3 in the third set of her fourth-round match against No. 9 seed Petra Kvitova, Li climbed back, winning the last six games in succession to advance to the quarterfinals. The Chinese star has had some difficulties throughout her run thus far, but she has pulled through each time. Although Li has dropped 11 service games in four matches, she has also broken her opponents a whopping 21 times.
Prediction: Although Li has a 3-1 career record against Azarenka, I expect Azarenka to take this one in three sets.
No. 7 seed Maria Sharapova vs. No. 15 seed Andrea Petkovic
A win at the French Open would net Sharapova her first title at Roland Garros and would make her the 10th woman in history to notch a career Grand Slam. Petkovic, meanwhile, is looking for her first career semifinal appearance in a Grand Slam tournament. Both women claimed the titles at their last tournaments, with the Russian winning in Rome and the German winning in Strasbourg.
Sharapova is returning to form after a shoulder injury that has hampered her for several years. Although Sharapova has struggled with her serve, she still displays powerful groundstrokes and is reclaiming the mental toughness that once made her the No. 1 player in the world. These strengths were quite apparent in Sharapova’s second-round match against unseeded Caroline Garcia of France, as Sharapova was down 3-6, 1-4, but rebounded to win the last 11 games of the match. Furthermore, winning in Rome was huge for Sharapova because she proved to herself that she can win the big tournaments on clay.
The up-and-coming Petkovic has fought through to the quarterfinals, but it has not always been an easy path. The German was taken to three sets in her last two matches, although she has capitalized on a solid serve and aggressive return game to achieve her current position. Her footwork has been much improved on clay, as she is showing better movement than ever before.
Prediction: Sharapova has won two out of their three career meetings, although Sharapova and Azarenka split the two matches that they played this year. I predict that Sharapova will win this one in straight sets.
Do you agree with my picks, or do you have different predictions?
Tell us what you think in the comments below!
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