Belinda Bencic and Maria Sharapova will face off in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. It generates intrigue due to the contrast in styles as well as the difference in generations we see in Bencic vs Sharapova.
Powerful, relentless, competitive; these are just some of the phrases you could use to describe Maria Sharapova. The 28-year-old has now won five slams in her career and despite all her success on and off the court, she is still hungry for more. Sharapova is coming off an inconsistent and injury plagued year.
She started off the year strongly by winning in Brisbane and losing the Australian Open final to Serena Williams. After that, a series of early losses made people think that she was on the downward spiral. After not playing at all after Wimbledon due to injury, she recovered some form that brought her to the semi-finals of the year end championships in Singapore. Even though she withdrew from Brisbane where she was defending champion, she is still after more.
Nimble, sneaky, and full of guile, teenager Belinda Bencic has burst onto the scene with a swagger and a smile that can only be matched by Martina Hingis before her. Fittingly enough, she is coached by Martina Hingis and her hitting patterns of acute angles and stunning shot selection also resemble the former Swiss Miss. Bencic had a breakout year in 2015, winning two Premier titles in Eastbourne and Toronto. The Toronto run saw her take out four top ten players, handing Serena Williams one of her three losses of the year. Although she did not make a big splash in the slams, she’s shown that she belongs at the very top. What she lacks in power, she makes up in great court sense.
Clearly, Bencic vs Sharapova offers not only a clash in tennis styles, but a clash in generations as well. It is not only interesting because of the player pedigree, but because of things that have been said off court as well. Bencic has stated in an interview that she does not enjoy the way that Sharapova plays. The Swiss player said that she wants to play a more intelligent brand of tennis and the style of Sharapova does not suit that. These statements bring in another dimension to this match as Maria is known to be ruthless to not only those who beat her in a tennis match, but those who have the nerve to talk bad about her off the court.
The dynamics of this match make Bencic vs Sharapova the most interesting matchup of day 7. These dynamics would be further promoted with an exciting three setter between the two.
