Maria Sharapova’s straight sets dismissal of Belinda Bencic has set her up with meeting No.21 against her nemesis Serena Williams.
Sharapova’s record against the world No.1 is a disheartening one. Since her triumph over Williams in the final of the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, the 28-year-old has suffered 18 consecutive defeats. Furthermore, in their five most recent encounters, Sharapova has lost in straight sets.
In her first four rounds in Melbourne, Sharapova has only dropped one set (round three against Lauren Davis). The quartet of wins is good momentum for the Russian going into the second week of the Australian Open. Looking ahead, Sharapova admitted that she needs to continue improving her game in order to stay at the top of the sport.
“You’re always trying to improve. I got myself into the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam. There is no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It’s only going to be tougher, especially against Serena”. Sharapova said.
One of Sharapova’s latest improvements is her serve. The fifth seed fired 21 aces past Belinda Bencic during her fourth round match, a personal best for Sharapova. The service is an area that the 28-year-old has been working on since undergoing shoulder surgery. The challenger for the Russian is to serve without her shoulder going back too much to cause her discomfort. The method is still a work in progress for her.
“I have gone through many different motions to try to find my groove again and something that would hold up over many matches”. The world No.5 said.
“I think I have made a little bit of a change last year in the stance, but I think everyone always tries to improve things here and there”. She later added.
Sharapova will play in her 24th Grand Slam quarterfinal against Williams on Tuesday. The encounter will be a rematch of last year’s final at the tournament where Sharapova lost 6-3, 7-6(5).
