Maria Sharapova produced another terrific display to snap Petra Kvitova's 27 match winning streak on indoor courts with a 6-4 7-6 semi-final victory. Kvitova struggled to deal with the Sharapova serve in a forgettable first set, which saw few rallies. Kvitova came to life in a sensational second set, but was unable to make her edge pay as a nerveless Sharapova fought off 10 break points, which were spread across every one of Sharapova's service games. The Russian has looked extremely impressive on the clay this week and will now face Victoria Azarenka for the third time this year in a final.
Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-3 with a clinical display of baseline aggression. Azarenka pummelled the Radwanska 2nd serve, which was the Pole's downfall today with just 2 out of 17 points won. Radwanska appeared to struggle with a lower back injury in the second set, but showed some brief resistance at the end before Azarenka sealed the victory. Azarenka has defeated Sharapova in both their previous encounters this year with ruthless straight set wins. I think this will be their closest match of the season so far, but I still predict Azarenka to run out as the winner. It has been a great week of predictions, but unfortunately just fell short when predicting the champion!
Azarenka defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-3 with a clinical display of baseline aggression. Azarenka pummelled the Radwanska 2nd serve, which was the Pole's downfall today with just 2 out of 17 points won. Radwanska appeared to struggle with a lower back injury in the second set, but showed some brief resistance at the end before Azarenka sealed the victory. Azarenka has defeated Sharapova in both their previous encounters this year with ruthless straight set wins. I think this will be their closest match of the season so far, but I still predict Azarenka to run out as the winner. It has been a great week of predictions, but unfortunately just fell short when predicting the champion!
Final Prediction - Victoria Azarenka to beat Maria Sharapova in 3 sets
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| Maria Sharapova |
Nah, it'll be straights. Maria is playing particularly well, though, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say she'll do marginally better against Vika than her previous two shellackings this year. Vika in two, 6-4, 6-4.
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