Tennis Acumen

Agnieszka Radwanska Defeats Maria Sharapova to Win Miami Title

PETE ZIEBRON

World #4 Aga Radwanska of Poland    Pete Ziebron Images

 

World #4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland defeated world # 2 Maria Sharapova 7-5 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open today in Miami.  Radwanska improved to 2-7 against Sharapova and to 26-4 in 2012.  

In fact, Radwanska is 26-0 against the WTA field, with the exception of world #1 Victoria Azarenka, whom she has yet to beat in 4 attempts this year. The victory was Radwanska's 9th title of her career and 2nd of the year, as she also won last month in Dubai.  Since last August, Radwanska has appeared in 5 Finals and has won all of them.  

In today's match, Radwanska held serve throughout the Final, hit 1 ace, had a 71% first serve percentage and staved off all 3 break points.  Following the match, Radwanska acknowledged that her ability to serve well was the difference:  "I was trying from the beginning to focus on my serve.  Maria is a good returner.  I think I did a good job today and the serve was the key to the match."

World #2 Maria Sharapova  Pete Ziebron Images

Maria Sharapova has appeared in the Final of the 3 biggest tournaments thus far in 2012: the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.   However she has not been able to win a set in any of these Finals and has only managed to win 17 games compared to the 36 her opponents have won against her in the title matches.

Today, Sharapova attempted to win her first title in Miami as she appeared in the Final for the 4th time.  However, Sharapova dropped serve as she tried to take the first set into a tiebreaker at 5-6 and once again in the 2nd set as she attempted to stay in the match at 4-5.

Agnieszka Radwanska did not drop a set throughout the tournament and defeated 3-time Champion Venus Williams in the semifinals.  She will now head into the clay court season, playing next week in Charleston, SC.

Marion Bartoli Ends Victoria Azarenka's Winning Streak at 26

PETE ZIEBRON

French #1 and world #7 Marion Bartoli                                  Pete Ziebron Images

Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli defeated world #1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Wednesday.  Azarenka came into the match having won 26 consecutive matches as well as winning all 4 tournaments she entered in 2012, including the Australian Open.

Despite losing to Azarenka the first 6 times they played, Bartoli has now beaten the world #1 3 of the last 5 times, including last October at the WTA Championships in Instanbul.  Following the match, Bartoli made mention of the fact that she was confident when she took the court: "Obviously we had some great battles in the past with Vika, and, you know, when you have to play against someone who is winning so much, it's even harder because obviously she had so much confidence into herself.  I think the main key for me was the belief and really to step up on the court trying to win the match, not only thinking about how well she's playing and everything, but really go on the court, having a game plan and try to go for my shots."

World #1 Victoria Azarenka   Pete Ziebron Images

Azarenka gave full credit to Bartoli, stating that this was her best ever effort in all of the times that they played: "She played really well, and that's what I expected her to play, the best tennis.  I honestly never seen her play that well.  But, I mean, all the credit to her.  She did an amazing job today."

Yesterday's win over Azarenka marks the 3rd time that Bartoli has recorded a win over the #1 player in the world.          Marion Bartoli's wins over the WTA #1 include:

• 2007 Wimbledon semifinals over Justine Henin
• 2009 Australian Open round of 16 over Jelena Jankovic
• 2012 Miami Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinals over Victoria Azarenka

Marion Bartoli has finished in the Top 17 for the last 6 consecutive years and was a Finalist at Wimbledon in 2007.  In late January, her ranking rose to career high of #7 in the world and she credits her work off the court for her resurgence:  "I have been working extremely hard (physically), and I think that's why also I improve so much since last year, being now a top 10 player and playing some great tennis since the beginning of the year.  I'm really happy all my hard work is paying off." 

Following the victory over Azarenka, Bartoli would lose her next match in the semifinals to world #5 Agnieszka Radwanska. Bartoli has a record of 17-7 in 2012.