WTA Headed to the grass

Vika run at No. 1 is over - for now. MAL TAAM

 

Maria’s Sharapova’s first Roland Garros title and ascension to No. 1 makes her a strong contender for the Wimbledon title and may even give her enough confidence to knock off her nemesis, Serena Williams, should they meet on the grass. Sharapova’s improved movement, recommitment to the swing volley and more consistent serving should aid her on the lawns.

Here’s a look at some of the major players and what’s ahead during the grasscourt season.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Imagine the amount of steam that came off of Azarenka’s ears when she heard that Sharapova has seized the No. 1 ranking from her. The two are not friendly and are quite competitive with each other. So now after four and a half months in the top spot where the world got a whiff of her forceful personality, Azarenka has been pushed back into Sharapova’s very large celebrity shadow.

Hopefully, it will motivate her to start competing well again, because she did not against Cibulkova at RG. If she can get her head on straight and pick up her first serve percentage she should be a huge threat to win her first Wimbledon title.

AGA RADWANSKA: What mess of a Roland Garros when Svetlana Kuznetsova crushed her. The Pole came into the event after winning Brussels, scored a solid win over a slow moving Venus Williams and then could not figure out how to deal with Kuznetsova’s topspin. Her counterpunching abilities should better serve her at Wimbledon, but she’s lacking confidence at big events.

PETRA KVITOVA: Getting to the semifinals was positive for the struggling Czech, but she didn