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Maria Sharapova has powered her way into the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard.
In a contest which lasted just 78 minutes, Sharapova was dominant from start to finish, to mark her claim as one of the favourites for the 2015 Australian Open crown.
It all started in the opening game of the match.
Serving first, Bouchard would be broken by Sharapova, with the Russian winning four of the first 5 points of the match.
This put Bouchard behind the contest immediately, and she made plenty of errors, trying to comeback.
While she had break points in the 6th game of the set, to level at 3-3, Sharapova held on and led 4-2 in the first set.
Sharapova would then break Bouchard for the second time in the set to win the first set 6-3.
Bouchard would make 20 unforced errors to hand her rival a massive advantage in the match.
She continued that dominance in the second set.
In the third game, Sharapova broke to 15, before breaking again at 5-2 up in the set, to win the match.
Her power was too much for Bouchard, who struggled to dictate the match at the baseline.
It was the best match from Sharapova in the tournament, and one that sends a loud message to the rest of the women in the draw.
If they are to win the event, they will need to beat a determined Sharapova to do it.
She was pleased with her match today.
“I thought I had a really good start. I kept my focus throughout the whole match. I didn’t feel that I had too many letdowns, which is important.”
“When I did have a few slips I was able to come out with great first serves or really powerful returns. But overall really happy with the way the match went,” Sharapova added.
Sharapova now plays Ekaterina Makarova, a fellow Russian, in the semi-finals. The world number 2 said it will be a tough contest.
“I’m also facing an opponent that wasn’t necessarily a favorite coming into that stage. That’s always a tricky situation because she’s going to come into that match free and almost happy to be in that situation, and that’s dangerous. You know, I haven’t faced a lefty in this tournament yet. She’s been using her lefty serve extremely well from what I’ve seen. But, yeah, I’ll be looking out for that, work on a few things tomorrow, and be ready for that match.”
For Bouchard she was annoyed about not taking her chances.
“She definitely played well today and she didn’t give me many chances. I know I could have done better for sure, so I’m disappointed with that, with just general, you know, not taking the few chances I got here and there. Against great players, you have to take every little chance you can get. Although she didn’t give me many, I know I had some. Disappointed I couldn’t do better with those.”
Bouchard’s next appearance could be for Canada in their Fed Cup tie next week.
As for Sharapova she will play Makarova in the semi-finals on Thursday.
It will be a contest between two of the most recognisable faces in the game as Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard battle for a spot in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match between the two from 12:30pm AEDT.
For both players they will be looking to return to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Eugenie Bouchard made the semi-finals last year, losing to Li Na, who won the title.
Maria Sharapova has made the semi-finals six times, making the final three times, and winning the title in 2008.
A win today would seal her seventh semi-final appearance in the Australian Open.
For both players, they have had some challenges, along the way to today’s match. In Round 2, Sharapova saved a match point, to limp past Alexandra Panova in three sets.
In Round 4, for Eugenie Bouchard, she had a tight three set battle with Irina-Camelia Begu.
Today’s match is the first one in the Open between two current top ten players. It promises to be the biggest match of the Open so far.
Head to head, the duo have faced three times, with Sharapova winning all of the contests between the two. The last match was at the French Open, which turned into a marathon match between the two.
After Bouchard won the first set 6-4, Sharapova would win the next two sets, to win the match and make the final. She would later win her second French Open.
The other two contests have been one sided with Bouchard winning just eight games against Sharapova in those two matches. The Canadian has improved considerably since then. I would be surprised if she lost that easily to Sharapova today.
This promises to be a big battle at the baseline. Sharapova likes to blast her opponents off the court while Bouchard likes to moves up the baseline and dictate the point.
The question for this match is can Bouchard dictate the point against the power of Sharapova. If she can, Bouchard will win this match.
Unforced Errors will also be the key. In both of the matches during the tournament, where the players struggled, they hit plenty of unforced errors.
Against Panova, Sharapova hit 51 unforced errors, as she just defeated her countrywoman.
In Bouchard’s match against Begu, she hit 42. In the other three rounds, which were straight set wins for each player, Bouchard hit 48 with Sharapova hitting 60 unforced errors.
Whoever hits fewer unforced errors today will win the match.
Predicting this match is tough. Both players can win the match on their day. With Sharapova’s record against Bouchard, I lean towards her. Her power will also be too much for the Canadian.
Bouchard can win the match, and she will drag it to three sets today.
I predict Sharapova to be too strong for Bouchard in a cracking contest.
Prediction: Maria Sharapova 2-1
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