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How the Match Was Won– Live! Maria Sharapova vs. Venus Williams, Australian Open Round Three

By Juan José on January 18, 2013

And so, we’re finally here: the Sharapova-Venus match that everybody circled as a potential blockbuster third round match is finally upon us. I’m a little drained by the Janowicz-Almagro Liveblog, but I wasn’t going to let this match go by without a liveblog. Impossible is nothing!

Here is the Head to Head between Venus and Sharapova. Isn’t it nuts that they’ve only played 7 times? I mean, these two have been on tour FOREVER. The last time they met at a Slam was at Wimbledon. In 2007! In fact, they’ve only played each other twice in Slams, and both times were at Wimby. Remarkable. Venus is down in the H2H, but she has won 2 of the last 3, including their last match on hardcourts. The problem? Eleven’s creator last beat Sharapova in 2009.

Maria Sharapova comes into this match without having lost a single game so far. Read that again. Sugarpova’s CEO has played two grand slam matches…and dropped four bagels. That’s remarkable. Venus did her own delivery of baked goods in the first round, but seemed to struggle a bit against Alizé Cornet in the second round. You could argue that Cornet’s struggles with herself were the deciding factor in that match being over in straight sets.

What to Watch For:

– Who will place more pressure with their return of serve? Both women have big, if erratic, first deliveries. And both love to pounce on 2nd serves. Whoever can create the most pressure on the server will surely have an edge in this match-up.

– Can Sharapova use her FH to dictate effectively? If the reigning French Open champion can find a comfort zone to be aggressive with her weaker side, things will get complicated for Venus.

– Who will be able to force her opponent to hit that extra shot during rallies? Venus, in her prime, was incredible in terms of covering ground on the court. You still see glimpses of that ability these days, but sadly, they’re mostly glimpses. Sharapova, on the other hand, has been steadily improvement in the defensive department, and the Roland Garros crown last year was the crowning achievement of her progress. It’ll be interesting to see which one of these ladies can force the other to go for a little more on those bombs from the baseline.

– Will Venus come to net? It could be a good strategy for Venus, who covers the net so well, to put a lot of pressure on Sharapova by forcing her to hit passing shots rather frequently. Venus might elect to stay back, but this is something to watch for.

It’s 7:00 pm in Melbourne, and the day session ended up a while ago, so we should start on time. Remember to refresh this page often, as I will be providing game-by-game updates throughout the match!

The women have walked out on Rod Laver Arena! In a rather surprising turn of events, Sharapova does not have an evening dress. The dual-outfit pioneer is still in her yellow and grey dress, which has been slightly polarizing among tennis fans. Venus will play with the same dress for the third straight time, which is also surprising, but in her case, a good thing. That dress of hers is an absolute hit.

Here are the conditions for tonight:

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Pretty pleasant weather to play tennis, no? Apparently not pleasant enough to watch tennis being played, given the amount of empty seats:

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You’d think Rod Laver Arena would be packed right at 7 pm for a third round match of this caliber. Maybe they’re all Lakers fans.

 

The commentators are raving about Venus’ dress. Glad I’m not the only one.

Something I’m very excited about: these ladies take their sweet time during points. In the Almagro-Janowicz match the points were extremely short, and both men were very quick to start the next battle. In related news, I’m icing my hands when I’m not typing.

The ladies are ready, so let’s get this thing going!

First Set – Venus Williams will serve first.

0-0: Sharapova makes her way to a 15-40 lead, and breaks on her second chance. She was all over Venus’ second serve, and survived a few FH exchances. Very clean return game from Sugarpova. Yet…it’s not like Venus isn’t hitting the ball well.

https://twitter.com/FootFault_/status/292184113358721024

1-0, Sharapova: Sharapova sends two second serves to Venus’ FH (strange call), and Venus hits two return winners. The elder Williams also won a FH exchange. Sharapova’s first serve absolutely deserted her in this game. Venus sends a tame FH UFE into the net on her first BP of the match, and another seals the hold for Sharapova.

That FH UFE on BP had to hurt for Venus. It was a golden opportunity to get back on serve and send a message to the other side of the net. More importantly, she has to win these FH exchanges.



2-0, Sharapova: Venus’ serve starts to abandon her, as well as her FH. Venus DFs to go down 30-40, and then nets yet another FH for the second break. Sharapova has now won 27 straight games at the 2013 Australian Open.

That’s nuts.

Everything that needed to go well for Venus…isn’t. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. She’s not finding many 1st serves, and she’s netting a ton of FHs. Hence, she’s down two breaks.

3-0, Sharapova: Sharapova is serving more comfortably now, and she’s winning those CC FH rallies. She clinches the game on an emphatic FH DTL putaway. She’s rollin’.

4-0, Sharapova: Venus finds herself with a hold. She stops the Sharapova Games Won streak. She served very well, and used her FH beautifully. That’s what she needs to keep doing to make this match competitive. I liked how Venus used the FH DTL at one point – she has some margin on it, and it opened up the court for her CC FH. A sign of good things to come?

4-1, Sharapova: Sharapova is getting ridiculous depth. Consistently. That’s not only tough for Venus to handle – it’s tough for anybody to handle. She commits a bad FH error at one point, but the rest of the game develops rather uneventfully. Holds to 15.

5-1, Sharapova: Sharapova is not missing FHs. It’s the NBA equivalent of a team not missing jumpshots. She arrives to 0-40 on Venus’ serve in a flash of missiles from her “weaker” side. And fittingly, another great DTL FH seals the game.

That was rout. Man, was that a rout.

By my unofficial count, Sharapova made a single UFE with her forehand. That’s brutal for Venus, who made a ton of those herself. This is how we’re at this 6-1 juncture.

That’s incredible. If Sharapova can breadstick Venus while serving that awful 1st serve percentage…eh…what happens when she gets more 1st serves in play?

First Set stats:

1st_set

Second Set – Venus Williams will serve first.

0-0: Sharapova holds with an ace, in a game that had gone to 40-30.

I would agree strongly with this:

I’m particularly amazed at her footwork into her shots. She’s taking every single little step she needs to take. Hence, she doesn’t miss!

1-0, Sharapova: Two return winners, and it’s 0-40. A third gives Sharapova the break. That was violent. Sharapova’s on a rampage.

And that might be an understatement.

2-0, Sharapova: The rout continues, as Sharapova consolidates with an ace out wide. There was an awful call against Sharapova in the game, as this ball was call out, somehow:

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It didn’t matter, of course. This is a massacre.

3-0, Sharapova: Venus goes down 0-30 in about 2 seconds, after yet another Sharapova FH winner. A great return FH by Sharapova makes it 0-40. This is so violent. This is what Oracene looks like at this juncture:

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A BP is saved when Sharapova misses a FH (!!!!!). Venus saves the remaining two with a gutsy CC FH, and a huge serve. Sharapova donates a point with a BH UFE, and Venus then holds with a great FH DTL. That seemed so unlikely just a minute ago.

3-1, Sharapova: Venus has an unexpected lead at 15-30 after Sharapova makes a strange BH UFE. But a FH UFE levels the game. That was huge – could’ve made it 15-40, and Sharapova has come down from Goddess mode. But…another Venus FH UFE kills the momentum and gives Sharapova a chance to hold. Ugh. They play the longest rally of the match, and yes, it ended on a Venus FH UFE.

That game will haunt Venus. That was a legitimate opportunity to get back in the match. Sharapova looked human all of a sudden – the game was right there. Yet 3 straight FH UFEs sealed her fate.

4-1, Sharapova: It’s 15-40 after more blistering FHs by Sharapova. Normal service has been resumed. She misses a 2nd serve return with that wing, though, so it’s 30-40. The ladies play a great, forceful point, and for the first time, it’s Sharapova’s FH the one that cracks. Deuce. Which becomes AD-Sharapova after another FH return winner. She barely had to move to pummel that. Not that she hasn’t pummeled others while fully out-stretched. Sharapova had Venus on the ropes…and lets her live for a little while longer. She misses a sitter BH, driving it into the net. Sharapova then misses another BH well wide – Venus now has a chance to hold. Strange (for this match) errors from Sharapova all of a sudden. Venus keeps serving to Sharapova’s FH, Sharapova keeps getting great returns in place. Time to mix it up, Venus? Venus does what I suggest, and the result is the same. Nevermind. Rinse and repeat, and Sharapova will serve for the double breadstick

Venus had a chance in that 3-1 game. It was there. She just couldn’t bring herself to clean up her FH errors, and then Sharapova made her pay in the very next game. Ruthless.

5-1, Sharapova: A proud champion claws herself into a 0-40 lead after another Sharapova BH UFE. Two service bombs and yet another Venus errant FH make it deuce, though. Two points away from the win. A great CC BH by Venus gives her a fourth chance to break. And then…Sharapova somehow gets a CC FH passing shot while on the run. That was nasty. Oracene smiled. Too good, that shot. Venus cracks a FH return, and forces the rare FH error from Sharapova (!!!). Fifth chance to break in this game. The break comes after another good return!

Was that like the three pointer that cuts an NBA team’s lead from 10 to 7 with 15 seconds left? It makes the scoreline more presentable…but can it actually mean anything?

5-2, Sharapova: Sharapova scrambles, gets a couple of tough shots back, but Venus once again puts away an overhead. She has a chance to hold! Which she does…after Sharapova goes for a FH return that used to go in every single time just minutes ago.

5-3, Sharapova: Pretty much every single time Venus is close to tilting the power balance in this match, she misses a FH. 30-0 in a flash. But then Sharapova stops a point thinking a Venus shot had landed out, only to see Hawk-eye call the shot in. 30-15, and another Sharapova UFE makes it 30-all. 2nd serve, and Venus sends a FH return long. Per usual. MP #1. The match ends on an ace. Because, why not?

This is how it feels to wint his match:

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This is what Venus thinks about it:

Second set stats:

2nd_set

Final Thoughts

Maria Sharapova was almost untouchable for a set and a half. She was moving incredibly well, and was absolutely full of confidence on that forehand of hers. She wasn’t giving much away, while crushing the ball with furious abandon. That’s a bad combination for anybody who is playing her. Still, Venus did not help her cause, especially with her own FH. The elder Williams absolutely needed to win at least half of those FH exchanges, and she barely won any in that period of time. What needed to be a difference-maker ended up being a complete liability.

However, Sharapova did come back to earth when serving up 3-1 in the second set, and Venus just wasn’t good enough to capitalize on this sudden drop in form. Serena’s older sister made 3 UFEs from 15-30 up which could have brought her back on serve. But instead of 2-3, it was 1-4, Sharapova went on the warpath again, and served for it at 5-1.

I keep thinking about what would have happened if Venus had managed to break back at 3-1, given how tight Sharapova got at the end of the set. Maybe we wouldn’t have had a different winner….but it is sad that Venus couldn’t give herself the opportunity to try and change the outcome of that match.

Speaking of Venus, I do think there are encouraging signs for her. She moved relatively well, and just seemed to struggle with Sharapova’s pace. Venus is still on the comeback trail, but I think she’s closer to being a permanent fixture as she’s been in quite a while. Barring any more medical issues, I think she’ll have a good 2013. In Australia Venus seemed healthy enough, and motivated enough to get back to the playing the kind of tennis that would have seen her take control of that second set when the opportunity presented itself.

Final Stats:

Final_Stats


Juan José loves a well struck backhand down the line, statistics that tell a story, a nice lob winner, and competent returns of serve.

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