Ladies semi finals day tomorrow and we have 3 big stars of the WTA and one lesser star with a huge heart. Sam Stosur made the final here two years ago and was overwhelming favourite to take the title, however under the intense media glare she froze and allowed Francesca Schiavone take the title. In 2011 at Flushing, we saw a more mature mentally strong Stosur beat Serena Williams for her maiden grand slam title, a victory on which she hasnt exactly kicked on from but has reminded us that she is capable of going deep in slams and winning. Sara Errani on the other hand is inexperienced at this stage of a slam tournament. She has a poor record against Stosur however the two have never played on the clay. Errani must learn to combat Stosur’s wicked kick serve which she uses to devastating effect to open up the court. Perhaps this is a step too far in the Italians fairytale.
Following the first semi final we have Sharapova taking on Kvitova. The last time these ladies met was in the Aussie Open in January with the Russian winning in 3 sets. However their most high profile meeting was on the faster grass of the Wimbledon final in 2011. Both girls have enormous power and talent, perhaps Kvitova is the more rounded player and she will be using her variety to get Maria tangled up. I expect her to target the Sharapova forehand and pressurise her serve. The slower surface may actually allow Maria a little more time to scramble in defence and wind up her swing in attack. Sharapova will employ her usual game plan, brute force, flat out returns and massive hits in the hope that she can put Kvitova or keep her well out of the danger zone. Tough one to call, but Maria has been in sparkling form this Spring on the clay. Im going for her.
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