Roar Guru
No Australian women are left in the singles main draw after Sam Stosur lost to Maria Sharapova on Friday night in straight sets.
SHARAPOVA 6 6
STOSUR 3 4
For the second time in two years Sam Stosur will face Maria Sharapova again at the French Open. Join The Roar for live scores of the match from around 11:30pm AEST.
363 days after their last match against each other, in Round 4 of the 2014 French Open, these two face off again in the third round of this year’s edition.
In that match, Stosur won a set, as Sharapova dominated the final two sets to lose just four games. It wasn’t bad performance by Stosur who lost to the eventual champion of the event. As they enter this year’s match, both are in form, after recent title wins.
Stosur won the Strasbourg title last week, with Sharapova winning the Rome event. They have also been in great form at Roland Garros.
Stosur has lost just five games in her first two matches with Sharapova losing 10.
While both are in form, Sharapova has dominated head to head meetings. Tonight is the 17th match between the two with Sharapova winning 14 out of the 16 contests.
On clay the ledger is 4-0 to Sharapova. Despite this Stosur is right in this match tonight.
She is settled off the court, after reuniting with Dave Taylor, and looks to be really enjoying her tennis. This is a far cry to last year where Stosur contemplated retirement after a barren run of results in the middle of the year.
With that in mind she did well to win a set from Sharapova last year. I feel she is in better form than last year and Sharapova is a little off hers which took her to the title.
While the bookies have Sharapova as the clear favourite, I see it as a genuine 50/50 contest. If Stosur can serve well, and control the baseline, then she is capable of pulling off the upset.
The head to head record is a worry though. I’ll play it safe and tip Sharapova but don’t be surprised if Stosur wins.
We’ve seen upsets already in the tournament, tonight could see another one.
PREDICTION – Sharapova 2-1