French Open: Sharapova overpowers Azarenka to reach final

Nadal meets Djokovic while Tsonga tackles Ferrer in men’s semi-finals today.

PARIS: Maria Sharapova survived a gruelling test to reach the French Open final for the second straight year yesterday with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 defeat of Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

In a disjointed match opposing two of the biggest hitters in women’s tennis, the defending champion opened the semi-final in style, then lost her way for a set and finally, on the back of a brief rain delay, resumed control.

“I really had to play to the end today and I am extremely happy to be back in the final,” said Sharapova. “[The rain delay] gave me a little bit of time to think of what I did well in the first set and try to get that back again for the third.”

Sharapova got off to a miserable start, two double faults leading to a dropped serve in the first game.



But, unlike in her match against the Serb, the Russian quickly regrouped and rattled off four games in a row, getting the better of Azarenka in a bruising sequence of baseline exchanges.

Sharapova’s serve was in good working order, the opening game apart, and she duly wrapped up the set 6-1 after just 28 minutes with an ace out wide.

Azarenka stopped the rot by holding serve to open the second set and, with a foothold, in the match she started to apply added pressure on the Sharapova serve.

That paid dividends as Azarenka racked up break points and took the second set 6-2

But, as in the first set, it was Sharapova who was the first to fully deploy her firepower and wrap up the match in three sets.

Djokovic, Nadal braced for epic duel

In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet for the 35th time today with a French Open final place at stake as well as their reputations as the two heavyweights of the sport.

World number one Djokovic needs a Roland Garros title to become just the eighth man to capture a career Grand Slam.

Nadal, meanwhile, is just two matches away from becoming the first man in history to win the same major on eight occasions.

Nadal is keen to play down the hype despite having arrived at the French Open with six titles from eight finals contested since his return to the tour in February.

“I didn’t have ambition to win Roland Garros; I didn’t have ambition to win Monte Carlo; I didn’t have ambition to win Indian Wells,” said Nadal. “My only ambition is feel myself competitive another time, feel myself happy to play tennis another time, and try to play with no limitations.

Djokovic believes everything about his game will have to be in complete harmony against Nadal.

“Everything has to work in harmony,” he said. “Everything has to be synchronised and, you know, not many ups and downs throughout the match. I know what it takes to win against him. That’s what I’m going for. I’m going to win. That’s the mindset.”

The other semi-final will be played between David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who is bidding to become France’s first home champion since Yannick Noah in 1983.

Tsonga, who will be playing in his fifth Grand Slam semi-final, is looking to make his second final at a major following his runner-up finish to Djokovic in Australia in 2008.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2013.