Maria Sharapova power play too much for old foe Caroline Wozniacki as Australian Open loses its defending champion

Grudge match: Maria Sharapova in action against Caroline Wozniacki
AFP/Getty Images
Paul Newman18 January 2019

There is clearly no love lost between Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, which probably made the Russian’s third-round victory over the Dane here today at the Australian Open even sweeter.

Recording one of her best results since returning to competition in 2017 following her suspension for a drugs offence, Sharapova beat the defending champion 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Her superior power was crucial, though the outcome of the match could have been different if Wozniacki had built on her 4-1 lead in the opening set.

The world No3 fought back to win the second set, but Sharapova’s break of serve in the seventh game of the decider proved the final turning point. When Sharapova came back two years ago, Wozniacki criticised the granting of wild cards to her and was subsequently described by the Russian’s agent as a “journeyman”.

When it was put to Sharapova that the nature of the pair’s relationship would have made her victory here all the more satisfying, she replied: “I just really like winning. I’m just really happy and proud of the way I competed today and I’m into the fourth round, so that’s all that matters.”

When asked about her relationship with Sharapova, Wozniacki said: “I think our terms are the same as they have always been. She doesn’t really talk to anybody, has her team and her own thing.

“That’s that. I do my own thing. I have my friends and that’s that.

“We are just playing. We are on tour. We are competitors. We both try our hardest when we’re out there on court and fight our hardest.”

Sharapova’s bold hitting produced 37 winners, compared with just 10 by Wozniacki. The Russian said she had tried to avoid long rallies because Wozniacki “lives off that type of tennis”, but added: “Even in the longer rallies I felt I did a great job. I put a lot of pressure on her. Those are the rallies that I think she used to win many years ago. I thought I did a great job of getting a higher percentage of wins in those.”

Wozniacki revealed at the end of last year that she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis but insisted that it was not a factor in her defeat. “I did my best out there,” she said. “I was fighting until the end. In my head I know I should have won that first set.”

In Pictures | Australian Open Tennis 2019

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Sharapova next faces Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, who beat Greece’s Maria Sakkari 7-5, 6-1 in just 82 minutes and has yet to drop a set. The match was played with the roof over Rod Laver Arena closed because of morning showers. By reaching the last 16, Barty has matched her best performance at a Grand Slam tournament, having reached the same stage of last year’s US Open.

“You have to keep giving yourself the opportunity to do better and better,” she said afterwards. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable on the court and can play my own brand of tennis. When I execute it, I know it works against the best in the world.”

Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 11, was regarded by many as a dark horse to win the title, but the 20-year-old from Belarus was crushed 6-3, 6-2 by Amanda Anisimova, who at 17 is the youngest singles player left in the tournament.

“That was probably one of the best matches of my life,” Anisimova said after securing a fourth-round meeting with Petra Kvitova. “She’s a really tough opponent, so I was preparing myself for a really tough match. I was putting it all out there.”

Anisimova has Russian parents but was born in New Jersey, has lived in Florida since the age of three and represents the United States. She is also 5ft 11in tall and blonde, which means it is no surprise that she is often compared to Sharapova, one of her idols.

Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber breezed through to the fourth round late this morning with a 6-1, 6-0 win over 20-year-old Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell. The world No 2 faces American Danielle Collins for a place in the quarter-finals.

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