Thursday, April 5, 2007

Sharapova Sitting Pretty: Indian Wells WTA preview


With three of the top five women missing in Indian Wells, Maria Sharapova is the prohibitive favorite to win the title.You have to figure that Maria Sharapova, the Pacific Life Open’s defending women’s champion, gave one of her signature fist pumps after she looked at this year’s draw. The 96-player field has some conspicuous holes. There’s no Justin Henin. Kim Clijsters bagged the tournament, no doubt counting the days until her summer wedding and impending retirement, and local favorite Lindsay Davenport is home, no doubt counting the days until she gives birth to her first child. Amelia Mauresmo is a no-show. Venus and Serena Williams have been MIA since 2001.And Elena Dementieva, who brings the game’s shakiest serve and perhaps the strongest ground game, pulled out on Wednesday with a stress fracture in her right rib and could be out for six weeks.All that leaves Maria Sharapova as the prohibitive favorite to repeat in the desert. Among the 96 players, she has the most big-time experience.But don’t cancel those DVR recordings of the women’s matches just yet. While the draw is wide open for the world No. 1, she has been a bit shaky of late. Her run to the Australian Open final was fraught with serving woes and in the final, she betrayed an inability to find a second gear when Serena Williams dictated the points. At her next event in Tokyo, she was forced to pull out of her semifinal match due to a left hamstring strain.She says she’s healthy for a run at Indian Wells, where she’ll not only be defending her title but also the No. 1 ranking. Although Henin isn’t playing, she’s only 33 ranking points behind Sharapova and will take over the top spot if Sharapova fails to reach the semifinals.There are a few talented players who could end Sharapova’s reign at the top. One of them is Jelena Jankovic. She’s been posting strong results so far this season, winning Auckland and reaching the final of Sydney, and scoring two semifinal showings, too. If the emotional Serb can keep her focus, she could give Sharapova trouble – they’re in the same half of the draw.And aside from Sharapova, there are many other Russians to keep your eye on. Last year’s finalist, Elena Dementieva, brings the game’s shakiest serve and strongest ground game, and she plays well on the hard courts. Nadia Petrova, a virtual unknown to U.S. fans, won five singles titles in 2006 and captured Paris Indoor this year.It’s hard to figure out the No. 2 seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova. She’s a feisty, hard-hitting player, with the 2004 U.S. Open on her resume. But her results over the last two years have been all over the place. Still, she’s definitely a threat.Much has been made of the younger generation but most have yet to break through and score that big win. Into that category fall Nicole Vaidisova – the most talented of the pack – Ana Ivanovic and Tatiana Golovin. Their breakthroughs could come here, but the sleeper picks at Indian Wells go to two lesser-known players, Dinara Safina and Anna Chakvetadze.Marat Safin’s sister, Safina, won the Gold Coast title this year, and like big brother, she has a big game. Then there’s Chakvetadze. Three years ago, she wasn’t even in the Top 300; now she’s ranked No. 11. Last year alone, she won her first two tour titles and boasted wins over the likes of Safina, Dementieva, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and Petrova. Chakvetadze, whose goal is to make it into the Top 5, is on the other side of the draw from Sharapova, and she’ll certainly be a player to watch as the tournament progresses.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work.