By winning the Madrid Open on Sunday, Maria Sharapova showed that she may never be able to compete with Serena Williams on Williams' best day.
According to tennis.com, Sharapova overcame a gritty performance by Simona Halep in the Madrid final for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Sharapova won her second straight clay-court championship and moved up in the world rankings, drawing the following puzzling paragraph from tennis.com:
"Today she won her second title in a row and her first in Madrid, and she moved up to No. 7 in the rankings. She also looked pretty happy doing it. Sharapova may realize that, when it comes to clay, even if she never beats Serena Williams again, she'll be there to take advantage when someone else does."
The odd commentary, however, makes more sense in the article's description of how she won the final in Madrid.
Sharapova hit 32 winners and had 30 unforced errors in the match. She also double-faulted eight times. But tennis.com added that she took advantage of Halep's own experience in a finals match. After dominating the first set, Halep lost on her serve to start the second set.
Halep hit a pair of shots long during the second game of the second set after taking a 15-40 lead and let Sharapova back in the match. Sharapova did not disappoint.
It was Sharapova who started to capitalize on Halep's mistakes for not having experience in a final. Tennis.com reported that under pressure, Halep's forehand broke down, and when things started to unravel, she didn't try to slow herself down, pump herself up, or change her tactics. Which seems odd: Halep was 7-0 in finals over the last year, and 7-0 in three-setters so far in 2014. Yet unlike Sharapova, she couldn't find a way to rise to this occasion. Maria used all of her emotional energy, while Halep flat-lined."
But while Sharapova can get away with inconsistent play again the likes of Halep, she would be in deep trouble against Serena, who has beaten her 14 times in a row.
Do you think Maria Sharapova can ever regain her No. 1 form? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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