Maria Sharapova To Battle Samantha Stosur In Miami

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Maria Sharapova To Battle Samantha Stosur In Miami
By Anton Lagani, Lawn Tennis Analyst, Posted: Monday, March 28, 2011 8:12am PST USA

MIAMI-- Monday morning in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami, Florida, the glamour girl Maria Sharapova of Russia continues her comeback from a shoulder injury as she attempts to upset the fourth seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia.

However on paper, a win for Sharapova could not necessarily be considered an upset as the Russian leads the Australian head to head 6-0. In the duos last meeting at Tokyo in 2009, Sharapova steamrolled 6-0, 6-1.

In 2004 at age 17, Sharapova took her lone Wimbledon singles title in a breakthrough performance. Then one year later, the Russian would top the WTA Tour singles rankings.

Maria Sharapova of Russia | Image: Getty

A win for Sharapova could not necessarily be considered an upset as the Russian leads the Australian head to head 6-0.

In 2008, Sharapova reclaimed the world’s number one singles ranking before a shoulder surgery would keep her off the WTA Tour for nine months.

The 23 year old Sharapova since has struggled with her serve and shoulder at times. But the Russian nevertheless remains the world’s top female athlete money earner for several years running.

Sharapova’s overwhelmingly powerful baseline game could continue to prove troublesome for the athletic all-court game of Stosur as could the windy Miami conditions.

The 26 year old Stosur, possibly best known for her finalist finish at last year’s French Open and for her attacking volleys and piercing serve, will look to minimize her errors and rush Sharapova into difficult positions on the court.

Today’s winner could face the unseeded Shuai Peng of China in the quarterfinals and the top ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the semifinals.

At her prior WTA Tour tournament earlier this month at Indian Wells, Sharapova defeated Peng in 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the quarterfinals before turning in an error-filled semifinal performance to lose to the incredibly consistent Wozniacki 6-1, 6-2.