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O, Maria! A dream shattered
Patty Schnyder was more concerned with her own ranking than ending Maria Sharapova?s bid for No. 1. The eighth-seeded Swiss player upset Sharapova 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Italian Open on Saturday.
Patty Schnyder was more concerned with her own ranking than ending Maria Sharapova’s bid for No. 1. The eighth-seeded Swiss player upset Sharapova 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals of the Italian Open on Saturday.
Sharapova could have overtaken Lindsay Davenport for the top ranking if she won this $1.3 million clay-court tuneup for the French Open.
“She deserves to be No. 1, she’s a great champion,” Schnyder said of Sharapova. “I just took a chance on a clay court. I think it’s her weakest surface. I played a great game. I was the dominant player. I move better on a clay court than she does.”
The Wimbledon champion’s next chance will come at Roland Garros, where Sharapova would have to reach the later rounds and outperform Davenport.
“I’ve said it before, there’s no rush,” Sharapova said of becoming No. 1. “I’m not disappointed. I’d rather play better at a Grand Slam. I’m going to work on things next week and hopefully be fresh and ready for Roland Garros.”
The 6-foot Sharapova overpowered her shorter Swiss opponent in the first set with her big serve and groundstrokes, producing 11 winners to Schnyder’s four.
In the second set, Schnyder began to vary her shots as Sharapova lost her rhythm and started making unforced errors.
Schnyder began the third set by breaking serve and Sharapova’s game quickly unraveled.
“I didn’t think I was patient enough in the third set. I think she was more ready for the third set,” Sharapova said.
Schnyder used her drop shot effectively to set up easy passing shots and moved Sharapova out of her comfort zone with well-angled shots that Sharapova was forced to track down far off the playing surface.
Sharapova made 40 unforced errors to Schnyder’s 24 in third set.
