Australian Open 2008 Day Thirteen Review
Women’s Singles Final - Sharapova overwhelms Ana Ivanovic 7-5 6-3
2008 Australian Open News Day Thirteen – It sure wasn’t pretty, but that is sometimes the nature of a grand slam final. Neither Sharapova, nor Ivanovic played great tennis, and at the end of the day it was the player that made the least unforced error who triumphed, and that was the fifth seed, Maria Sharapova.
Although Sharapova dominated early in the first set, she made 3 double faults in the eighth game allowing Ivanovic in with a shout, albeit a small one. It was the same old story of unforced errors, however, and the Serbian fourth seed seemed overwhelmed by the occasion, and just couldn’t find any sort of rhythm.
Sharapova turned it up a notch in the second set, and when she broke Ivanovic in the seventh game it was just plain sailing for the elegant Russian. Only 30 winners were made for the duration of the final – Sharapova with 16 and Ivanovic with 14, an indication of the quality of the match.
Sharapova can now add her Australian Open women’s singles crown to her 2004 Wimbledon and 2006 US Open grand slam victories.
Match Statistic:
- Aces – Sharapova 1; Ivanovic 3
- Unforced Errors – Sharapova 15; Ivanovic 33
- Winners – Sharapova 16; Ivanovic 14
- Total Points – Sharapova 70; Ivanovic 50
Other Results from Day Thirteen
The Men’s Doubles Title was won by eight seeds Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram of Israel. They defeated Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France, the seventh seeds 7-5 7-6(7-4).
