Maria Sharpapova gets a shot
at Tatiana Golovin in the NASDAQ-100 semis.
Ron Cioffi/TR
THE
SCOOP: THURSDAY, MARCH 30 Sharapova mauls Myskina,
to meet Golovin Nalbandian v. Ljubicic in semis
By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net
In the past eight months, former No. 3 Anastasia Myskina has talked about
how her lack of confidence at critical moments has taken away her edge.
After her 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Maria Sharapova in the NASDAQ-100 quarters,
it's obvious the middling moments are also giving her problems.
Sharapova played a consistent, lethal match, daring Myskina to go for
the lines too early and, as a result, looked like a far better player
than the women who entered the match with a 3-1 edge over her. As has
often been the case during the last year, Myskina's forehand fell apart,
and she played way too safe when receiving balls down the middle.
The 18-year-old Sharapova is no longer the occasionally erratic, poorly
conditioned foe that Myskina owned three years ago. She's much more secure
when drawn out wide and because she's playing better defense, doesn't
overly force the action.
In the past three weeks, Maria has been the best Russian by a long shot.
"I played a clean match," Sharapova said. "I made a lot of errors
in my first two matches and knew I had to be patient since she gets a lot of
balls back. I look forward to improving in the semis and will hope for the
best."
Sharapova, who won Indian Wells two weeks ago, will meet a somewhat surprising
semifinalist in the form of French teen Tatiana Golovin, who hit through
China's Zheng Jie 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Sharapova is 2-0 against Tati. "I
want to go out and play my best, I have nothing to lose," said Golovin,
who, if she can't pull off a major win over a fellow 18-year-old standout
at some point soon, will lose her status as only an up-and-comer.
Nalbandian v. Ljubicic in semis
On the men's side, Ivan Ljubicic overcame Argentine Agustin Calleri 7-6(4),
6-3 and will meet David Nalbandian in what should be a fine semifinal.
Nalbandian beat Luby's Davis Cup teammate, Mario Ancic, 6-2, 6-2.
Nalbandian is seeking his first ATP Masters Series title, having finished
runner-up three times. The last time the two played, Nalbandian smoked
Ljubicic 6-2, 6-2 at the Tennis Masters Cup.
"Finally, I'm happy with how I played," Ljubicic said. "I served
amazingly and dominated my service games. I'm number two in points earned this
year, I feel like No. 2 in the world." Rafael Nadal must have loved to
hear that.
On Thursday, top-seed Amelie Mauresmo will play the suddenly significant Svetlana
Kuznetsova (see my column on foxsports.com) and Andy Roddick will take
on David Ferrer. The night matches feature an IW rematch between Roger
Federer and James Blake, followed by Sharapova against Golovin in a tantalizing
match-up of attitude and bravado. Take Mauresmo, Roddick, Fed and Sharapova.
TennisReporters.net
encourages e-mail comments on our stories.
Any e-mail sent to feedback@tennisreporters.net
will be considered for posting in our Feedback section. Please include your full name and hometown/state/country.
TennisReporters.net reserves the right to edit all feedback for content
and length.
