Sharapova is on course to become the third woman to win both the prestigious Indian Wells and Miami hardcourt titles in the same year. PHOTO: REUTERS
Sharapova, coming off a title at Indian Wells, has never won the Miami crown in four trips to the final.
“With all the tournaments I have played, this one I have been so successful at but yet I haven’t won it,” said Sharapova. “I’ve been so close to winning. I would love to win this. I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a little kid. It would mean a lot to win it.”
Although she was pleased to wrap up the match in two sets, Sharapova said she should have sealed it even sooner after twice going up a break in the second set.
“Of course it’s great that I was able to come back, but I felt like I made things much more difficult than they should have been.”
Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters in the 2005 Miami final, to Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2006, Victoria Azarenka in 2011 and Radwanska last year — all in straight sets.
Not only is she trying to fill that gap on her resume, she’s trying to become just the third woman to win both the prestigious Indian Wells and Miami hardcourt titles in the same year.
German great Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1994 and 1996, and Clijsters did so in 2005.
“I think it’s one of the toughest back to backs of the year,” said Sharapova. “It’s the amount of matches. It’s also the late matches that you’re playing, the recovery.”
She will battle for a place in the final against 22nd-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic. Former world number one Jankovic defeated Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
Ferrer through to semis after initial struggle
In the men’s draw, third-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer led the way into the men’s semis as he rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over unseeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
Ferrer, winner of two titles already this year at Auckland and Buenos Aires, steadied after an erratic first set and eventually cruised through the third to improve to 7-2 against the Austrian left-hander.
“I was a little bit nervous in the first set and part of the second,” said Ferrer. “But I tried to fight every point, to be focused.”
Ferrer next faces Germany’s giant-killer Tommy Haas, who defeated France’s Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-1.
Haas, at 34 the oldest player ranked in the top 50 in the world, showed no sign of a let-down a day after he toppled world number one Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
“I used my chances right away in the second set and took that momentum,” said Haas. “Again, I played the way I wanted to, using my all-around game and variety. I think I did that pretty well.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2013.
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