{"id":11673,"date":"2019-01-19T00:31:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T05:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=11673"},"modified":"2019-01-19T00:39:12","modified_gmt":"2019-01-19T05:39:12","slug":"maria-sharapova-seeking-to-spark-slam-revival-in-week-two-of-australian-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2019\/01\/19\/maria-sharapova-seeking-to-spark-slam-revival-in-week-two-of-australian-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria Sharapova seeking to spark &#8216;Slam Revival&#8217; in Week Two of Australian Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Maria Sharapova opened eyes with a gutsy, go-for-it themed performance that allowed her to overcome her nemesis, Caroline Wozniacki, in round three of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>6-4, 4-6, 6-3<\/strong> is a great reward for a bold approach to her second serve. Sharapova never allowed her Danish counterpart to slot into a defensive rhythm. It&#8217;s increasing speculation from commentators that the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/australian-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australian Open 2019<\/a> could spark the &#8216;Slam revival&#8217; of Sharapova.<\/p>\n<h4>Maria Sharapova looks determined to show she still possesses Slam Durability<\/h4>\n<p>A note of caution is advisable for Sharapova fans getting too carried away;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/2018\/09\/04\/scheduling-decisions-feel-the-heat-as-sharapova-was-protected-from-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">at the US Open 2018,<\/a> Sharapova looked unbeatable in her first three matches. Then from nowhere, she just imploded against Suarez-Navarro. All too often this has been the tale of Sharapova woe in Slams since her return from her ban.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of a new year, the Russian champion needs at least one more win to build up her <em>Slam stock<\/em> again.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The defending champion is out!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MariaSharapova?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MariaSharapova<\/a> scores her biggest win in years, taking out Caroline <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Wozniacki?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Wozniacki<\/a> 6-4 4-6 6-3 to make the R16!<\/p>\n<p>Sharapova vs Barty for a spot in the QFs <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AusOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#AusOpen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eIO6kOUT1e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/eIO6kOUT1e<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Live Tennis (@livetennis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/livetennis\/status\/1086158600706220032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 18, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Maria Sharapova showing improved\u00a0&#8216;in-match&#8217; Consistency<\/h3>\n<p>One word to describe Sharapova over the last couple of years is inconsistent. That said, there are early signs this Australian Open that consistency, is returning to the <a href=\"https:\/\/ausopen.com\/players\/russia\/maria-sharapova\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2008-former champion&#8217;s<\/a> game.<\/p>\n<p>Against the stoic, world\u00a0#64 Rebecca Peterson in round two, Sharapova won 14 points in a row. Five more than her highest in her last four tournaments. Against Wozniacki, she won eight points in a row, and this put her in a dominant position.<\/p>\n<p>This will be the key to her round of 16 match\u00a0opponent, home favorite, Ashleigh Barty. If Sharapova can consistently keep up her first service potency &#8211; and 2nd service accuracy &#8211; she could silence the Australian crowd.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Sharapova is seeking to break her &#8216;2nd week of Slam&#8217; hoodoo.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Although Maria Sharapova made the French Open quarterfinals 2018, she has not completed a victory since Australian Open 2016. Serena Williams&#8217; withdrawal at Roland-Garros meant that Sharapova didn\u2019t have to step foot on the court. Therefore, the last time Sharapova outplayed an opponent in the 2nd week of a Slam came in Melbourne 2016. This is when she out-gritted a young Belinda Bencic in two tight sets.<\/p>\n<h4>Sharapova&#8217;s 4th Round clash against Barty could make or break her Season<\/h4>\n<p>It seems there is an even split regarding those who think that Sharapova still has a Slam in her, and those who think she is heading towards retirement. Therefore, her round of 16 clash against Barty is crucial.<\/p>\n<p>If Sharapova can follow up her sizzling display against Wozniacki with another one, then you have to consider her a contender.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Main photo credit&#8221;<br \/>\n<a id=\"8Q0_DfEkQgV_4IB56OYsQQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.nz\/detail\/1084474130\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'8Q0_DfEkQgV_4IB56OYsQQ',sig:'ETQXX_pMG_c9u7edBbmeCaZ6J6tsl3e1Vg6PEZeq6XE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1084474130',caption: true ,tld:'co.nz',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maria Sharapova opened eyes with a gutsy, go-for-it themed performance that allowed her to overcome her nemesis, Caroline Wozniacki, in round three of the Australian Open. A 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 is a great reward for a bold approach to her second serve. Sharapova never allowed her Danish counterpart to slot into a defensive rhythm. It&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":11683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,4],"tags":[1279,547,4469,3927,266,80,46,473,894,2587,3502,1415,25,3579],"class_list":["post-11673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-open","category-featured","category-wta","tag-ash-barty","tag-ashleigh-barty","tag-australian-open-2016","tag-australian-open-2019","tag-belinda-bencic","tag-carla-suarez-navarro","tag-caroline-wozniacki","tag-jelena-ostapenko","tag-maria-sharapova","tag-melbourne-park","tag-rebecca-peterson","tag-russian-tennis","tag-serena-williams","tag-us-open-2018"],"modified_by":"Scott Hornell, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}