TEMPO.CO, Madrid - Petenis Rusia Maria Sharapova memposisikan dirinya sebagai favorit juara pada turnamen tenis Grand Slam Prancis Terbuka 2014 dengan menjuarai turnamen tanah liat Madrid Open 2014. Pada pertandingan babak final, Ahad, 11 Mei 2014, Sharapova, unggulan kedelapan, sempat kehilangan set pertama sebelum akhirnya menggulung unggulan kelima dari Rumania, Simona Halep, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Trofi juara yang direbut Sharapova ini merupakan yang kedua pada 2014 setelah sebelumnya ia memenangi turnamen di Stuttgart, Jerman, 27 April lalu. Turnamen di Stuttgart ini juga berlangsung di tanah liat.
Rekor Sharapova di lapangan tanah liat pada 2014 ini menjadi 11 kali menang dan belum pernah kalah. Ia juga memiliki rekor 46 kali menang dan tiga kali kalah di lapangan tanah liat sejak ia dikalahkan petenis terbaik Cina, Li Na, pada final Grand Slam Prancis Terbuka 2011. (Baca juga: Maria Sharapova Jegal Li Na di Madrid Open 2014)
Tiga kekalahannya itu semuanya dari Serena Williams (AS), yakni pada perempat final Madrid Open 2012, final Madrid Open 2013, dan final Prancis Terbuka 2013. Tiga kekalahan itu seluruhnya dalam straight set. Williams kini menjadi pemain nomor satu dunia.
Dengan kemenangan kali ini, Sharapova naik peringkat ke posisi ketujuh pekan ini dari urutan kesembilan pekan lalu. Turnamen Grand Slam Prancis Terbuka 2014 dijadwalkan berlangsung di lapangan tanah liat kompleks tenis Rolland Garos, Paris, 25 Mei hingga 8 Juni mendatang.
WTA | AGUS BAHARUDIN
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By The Numbers
Sharapova now has two WTA titles this year, Stuttgart and Madrid, and 31 WTA titles in her career.
The Russian has also clearly positioned herself as a favorite for the French Open - not only is she a perfect 11-0 on clay courts this year, she's also 46-3 on clay since falling to Li Na in the French Open semifinals in 2011, the only losses coming to Serena Williams (in the 2012 Madrid quarterfinals, the 2013 Madrid final and 2013 French Open final - all three of those losses were in straight sets).
And there's more - Sharapova will now rise from No.9 to No.7 on the new WTA Rankings, and she'll make an even bigger jump from No.10 to No.3 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard - the year-long journey to the BNP Paribas WTA Championships Singapore presented by SC Global in October.
Quotes
"What a week," Sharapova said in her on-court interview right after the match. "Last year I lost in the finals and I really wanted to go one extra step this year, and it's just been such a fantastic week.
"Simona and I had played a couple of times before, but she's really on a different level now. I don't know how I pulled it off. In the first set I wasn't doing much to hurt her, and that's the tennis she's capable of playing - I knew I had to do some different things after the first set to win this match.
"I don't take any finals for granted, and every tournament means a lot to me. I came close last year, and I didn't have a great first set today, but I knew it wasn't over until the last point was played."
- See more at: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3821117/title/sharapova-conquers-halep-madrid#sthash.NFYogLfT.dpuf
By The Numbers
Sharapova now has two WTA titles this year, Stuttgart and Madrid, and 31 WTA titles in her career.
The Russian has also clearly positioned herself as a favorite for the French Open - not only is she a perfect 11-0 on clay courts this year, she's also 46-3 on clay since falling to Li Na in the French Open semifinals in 2011, the only losses coming to Serena Williams (in the 2012 Madrid quarterfinals, the 2013 Madrid final and 2013 French Open final - all three of those losses were in straight sets).
And there's more - Sharapova will now rise from No.9 to No.7 on the new WTA Rankings, and she'll make an even bigger jump from No.10 to No.3 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard - the year-long journey to the BNP Paribas WTA Championships Singapore presented by SC Global in October.
Quotes
"What a week," Sharapova said in her on-court interview right after the match. "Last year I lost in the finals and I really wanted to go one extra step this year, and it's just been such a fantastic week.
"Simona and I had played a couple of times before, but she's really on a different level now. I don't know how I pulled it off. In the first set I wasn't doing much to hurt her, and that's the tennis she's capable of playing - I knew I had to do some different things after the first set to win this match.
"I don't take any finals for granted, and every tournament means a lot to me. I came close last year, and I didn't have a great first set today, but I knew it wasn't over until the last point was played."
- See more at: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3821117/title/sharapova-conquers-halep-madrid#sthash.NFYogLfT.dpuf
By The Numbers
Sharapova now has two WTA titles this year, Stuttgart and Madrid, and 31 WTA titles in her career.
The Russian has also clearly positioned herself as a favorite for the French Open - not only is she a perfect 11-0 on clay courts this year, she's also 46-3 on clay since falling to Li Na in the French Open semifinals in 2011, the only losses coming to Serena Williams (in the 2012 Madrid quarterfinals, the 2013 Madrid final and 2013 French Open final - all three of those losses were in straight sets).
And there's more - Sharapova will now rise from No.9 to No.7 on the new WTA Rankings, and she'll make an even bigger jump from No.10 to No.3 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard - the year-long journey to the BNP Paribas WTA Championships Singapore presented by SC Global in October.
Quotes
"What a week," Sharapova said in her on-court interview right after the match. "Last year I lost in the finals and I really wanted to go one extra step this year, and it's just been such a fantastic week.
"Simona and I had played a couple of times before, but she's really on a different level now. I don't know how I pulled it off. In the first set I wasn't doing much to hurt her, and that's the tennis she's capable of playing - I knew I had to do some different things after the first set to win this match.
"I don't take any finals for granted, and every tournament means a lot to me. I came close last year, and I didn't have a great first set today, but I knew it wasn't over until the last point was played."
- See more at: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3821117/title/sharapova-conquers-halep-madrid#sthash.NFYogLfT.dpuf
