2008 Maria Sharapova tennis season

2008 Maria Sharapova tennis season

Maria Sharapova won her first clay court title at Amelia Island
Name Maria Sharapova
Country Russia Russia
Singles
Season record 32–4
Calendar titles 3
Year-end ranking No. 9
Ranking change from previous year Decrease4
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W
French Open 4R
Wimbledon 2R
US Open DNP
Olympic Games DNP
Injuries
Injuries Shoulder surgery (October 2008)[1]
Last updated on: 3 February 2013.
Main article: Maria Sharapova

Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2008 tennis season.

Yearly summary

Australian Open series

Sharapova began her season at the Australian Open, as the 5th seed. She won the tournament without dropping a set (or playing a tie-break set), as she gained redemption following the previous year's heavy defeat in the final to Serena Williams. En route, she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the second round, served three bagels (one each to Elena Vesnina, Elena Dementieva and World No. 1 Justine Henin, whom she defeated very impressively in the quarter-finals)[2] and defeated Jelena Janković (who had defeated the defending champion Williams in the quarter-finals) in the semi-finals, before facing Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the final. In a match dubbed as the "Glam Slam final",[3] Sharapova upset the highly fancied Serb in straight sets to claim her first Australian Open title, and third Major title.[4]

Middle East series

After playing two Fed Cup rubbers for Russia to kick off February, Sharapova then competed at the Qatar Ladies Open. She defeated Galina Voskoboeva, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwańska (who had benefited from the withdrawal of top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round)[5][6] before facing (and defeating in three sets) Vera Zvonareva in the final.[7]

Sharapova then withdrew from Dubai due to a viral infection.[8]

Indian Wells & Miami

Sharapova reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells for the third time in four years, but was defeated there by compatriot and eventual runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, bringing an end to her 18-match winning streak to start the season.[9] Following Indian Wells, Sharapova withdrew from Miami, citing a recurring shoulder injury.[10]

Clay court season

American clay court season

After withdrawing from Miami, Sharapova won her first career clay court title in Amelia Island, defeating Dominika Cibulková in the final.[11] At Charleston, she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarter-finals.[12]

European clay court season

After deciding to skip the 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Sharapova next played at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, reaching the semi-finals before being forced to withdraw from her match against eventual champion Jelena Janković due to a calf injury.[13]

Following Justine Henin's surprise retirement during the same week as the Rome event,[14] Sharapova was elevated to World No. 1 in the rankings. Subsequently, she was named as the top seed at the French Open, which she needed to win to complete a Career Grand Slam (and thus protect her top ranking). After surviving a close final set against compatriot Evgeniya Rodina in the first round,[15] and another three-setter against Bethanie Mattek in the second, Sharapova fell in the fourth round in three sets to eventual finalist Dinara Safina, having held several match points in the second set.[16] As a result, she lost her World No. 1 ranking, after just three weeks, to Ana Ivanovic, who went on to win the tournament.[17]

Wimbledon

Sharapova's 2008 Wimbledon campaign turned out to be short-lived, as she was defeated in the second round by Alla Kudryavtseva, in the process suffering her earliest ever defeat at Wimbledon, and her earliest defeat at a Major tournament since the 2003 US Open.[18]

US Open series and shoulder injury

Sharapova next played at the 2008 Rogers Cup, however she had to withdraw following her second round win against Marta Domachowska due to a recurring shoulder injury, which ended up being serious enough to necessitate surgery.[19] As a result, Sharapova was forced to withdraw from her remaining tournaments for the year, including the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing, the US Open (thus missing her first Major tournament since her debut in 2003) and the year-end championships.[20] Her withdrawals from those events eventually led to her finishing the year ranked World No. 9, her lowest year-end singles ranking since 2003.

All matches

This table chronicles all the matches of Sharapova in 2008, including walkovers (W/O) which the WTA does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Singles matches

Tournament # Round Opponent Result Score
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam
Hard, outdoor
14–27 January 2008
1
1R
Croatia Jelena Kostanić Tošić
Win
6–4, 6–3
2
2R
United States Lindsay Davenport
Win
6–1, 6–3
3
3R
Russia Elena Vesnina
Win
6–3, 6–0
4
4R
Russia Elena Dementieva
Win
6–2, 6–0
5
QF
Belgium Justine Henin
Win
64, 60
6
SF
Serbia Jelena Janković
Win
6–3, 6–1
7
W
Serbia Ana Ivanovic
Win (1)
7–5, 6–3
Fed Cup WG 1st Round
Ramat HaSharon, Israel
Hard, indoor
2–3 February 2008
8
1R
R2
Israel Tzipora Obziler
Win
6–0, 6–4
9
1R
R3
Israel Shahar Pe'er
Win
6–1, 6–1
Qatar Ladies Open
Doha, Qatar
Tier I
Hard, outdoor
18–24 February 2008
1R
Bye
10
2R
Russia Galina Voskoboeva
Win
64, 46, 61
11
3R
Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn
Win
62, 62
12
QF
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki
Win
60, 61
13
SF
Poland Agnieszka Radwańska
Win
6–4, 6–3
14
W
Russia Vera Zvonareva
Win (2)
6–1, 2–6, 6–0
Pacific Life Open
Indian Wells, United States of America
Tier I
Hard, outdoor
9 March–23 April 2008
1R
Bye
15
2R
France Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro
Win
61, 60
16
3R
Greece Eleni Daniilidou
Win
75, 63
17
4R
Ukraine Alona Bondarenko
Win
62, 57, 64
18
QF
Slovakia Daniela Hantuchová
Win
76(72), 61
19
SF
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Loss
36, 75, 62
Bausch and Lomb Championships
Amelia Island, United States of America
Tier II
Clay, outdoor
7–13 April 2008
1R
Bye
20
2R
Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová
Win
61, 63
21
3R
Spain Anabel Medina Garrigues
Win
76(7–3), 57, 76(7–1)
22
QF
Ukraine Alona Bondarenko
Win
67(911), 63, 62
SF
United States Lindsay Davenport
Walkover
N/A
23
W
Slovakia Dominika Cibulková
Win (3)
7–6(9–7), 6–3
Family Circle Cup
Charleston, United States of America
Tier I
Clay, outdoor
14–20 April 2008
1R
Bye
24
2R
United States Bethanie Mattek
Win
60, 60
25
3R
Ukraine Tatiana Perebiynis
Win
75, 62
26
QF
United States Serena Williams
Loss
57, 64, 16
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Rome, Italy
Tier I
Clay, outdoor
12–18 May 2008
1R
Bye
27
2R
Slovakia Dominika Cibulková
Win
62, 36, 64
28
3R
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki
Win
64, 76(73)
29
QF
Switzerland Patty Schnyder
Win
67(37), 75, 62
SF
Serbia Jelena Janković
Withdrew
N/A
French Open
Paris, France
Grand Slam
Clay, outdoor
25 May–8 June 2008
30
1R
Russia Evgeniya Rodina
Win
61, 36, 86
31
2R
United States Bethanie Mattek
Win
62, 36, 62
32
3R
Italy Karin Knapp
Win
76(74), 60
33
4R
Russia Dinara Safina
Loss
76(86), 67(57), 26
The Championships, Wimbledon
London, Great Britain
Grand Slam
Grass, outdoor
23 June–6 July 2008
34
1R
France Stéphanie Foretz
Win
61, 64
35
2R
Russia Alla Kudryavtseva
Loss
26, 46
Rogers Cup
Montreal, Canada
Tier I
Hard, outdoor
26 July–3 August 2008
1R
Bye
36
2R
Poland Marta Domachowska
Win
75, 57, 62
3R
Japan Ai Sugiyama
Withdrew
N/A

Tournament schedule

Singles Schedule

Date Championship Location Category Surface Prev. result New result Outcome
14 January 2008–
27 January 2008
Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam tournament Hard F W Won in the final against Ana Ivanovic
18 February 2008–
24 February 2008
Qatar Ladies Open Doha (QAT) Tier I Hard W Won in the final against Vera Zvonareva
9 March 2008–
23 March 2008
Pacific Life Open Indian Wells (USA) Tier I Hard 4R SF Lost in the semi-finals against Svetlana Kuznetsova
7 April 2008–
13 April 2008
Bausch and Lomb Championships Amelia Island (USA) Tier II Clay DNP W Won in the final against Dominika Cibulková
14 April 2008–
20 April 2008
Family Circle Cup Charleston (USA) Tier I Clay DNP QF Lost in the quarter-finals against Serena Williams
12 May 2008–
18 May 2008
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome (ITA) Tier I Clay SF Withdrew before semi-final (against Jelena Janković)
26 May 2008–
8 June 2008
French Open Paris (FRA) Grand Slam Clay SF 4R Lost in the fourth round against Dinara Safina
23 June 2008
6 July 2008
The Championships, Wimbledon London (GBR) Grand Slam Grass 4R 2R Lost in the second round against Alla Kudryavtseva
26 July 2008–
3 August 2008
Rogers Cup Montreal (CAN) Tier I Hard DNP 3R Withdrew before third round match (against Ai Sugiyama)

Yearly Records

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by percentage, number of victories to number of losses, then in alphabetical order

Finals

Singles: 3 (3–0)

Category
Grand Slam (1–0)
WTA Tier I (1–0)
WTA Tier II (1–0)
Titles by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (1–0)
Titles by conditions
Outdoors (3–0)
OutcomeNo.DateChampionshipSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Winner 17. January 26, 2008 Australia Melbourne, Australia (1) Hard Serbia Ana Ivanovic 7–5, 6–3
Winner 18. February 24, 2008 Qatar Doha, Qatar (2) Hard Russia Vera Zvonareva 6–1, 2–6, 6–0
Winner 19. April 13, 2008 United States Amelia Island, USA (1) Clay Slovakia Dominika Cibulková 7–6(9–7), 6–3

See also

References

  1. THE LOW DOWN: Shrieka reveals surgery on shoulder, questionable for Aussie Open defense - Maria Sharapova - Zimbio
  2. "Brilliant Sharapova hammers Henin". BBC SPORT. 22 January 2008.
  3. Sharapova to put Ivanovic to test in glam slam final | Sport | The Guardian
  4. Sharapova's comeback continues with Australian Open title - The New York Times
  5. Sharapova to play Zvonareva in Qatar - smh.com.au
  6. Ivanovic strains ankle ligaments, out of Qatar Open – Tennis – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (21 February 2008). Retrieved on 10 March 2013.
  7. Maria Sharapova wins Qatar Open | Tennis - News | NDTVSports.com
  8. Sharapova withdraws from Dubai Championships - Tennis - ESPN
  9. BBC SPORT | Tennis | Sharapova run ended by Kuznetsova
  10. BBC SPORT | Tennis | Injured Sharapova to miss Miami
  11. Sharapova beats Cibulkova at Amelia Island, wins 1st clay-court title - USATODAY.com
  12. Once again, Serena defeats Sharapova - Los Angeles Times
  13. Maria Sharapova withdraws, Jelena Jankovic to meet Alize Cornet in Rome final | Internazionali BNL d'Italia
  14. Justine Henin announces retirement from tennis | Sport | guardian.co.uk
  15. Sharapova nearly blows first match - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au
  16. Sharapova banished as Federer advances - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au
  17. Sharapova to lose No.1 rank - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au
  18. BBC SPORT | Fun and Games | Quotes of week
  19. Tennis: Sharapova wins then withdraws from Rogers Cup | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
  20. Sharapova withdraws from U.S. Open | Toronto Star

External links

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