Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Melbourne, Jan 23, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Former world number one tennis star Maria Sharapova’s dream to win another Australian Open title came to a grinding halt on Sunday when she faced a rather humiliating defeat against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. The Russian ace tennis player was ousted from the championship in the fourth round by 6-2, 6-3 during Sunday’s game at the Melbourne Park. With the stellar performance that the German tennis star displayed, the 14th seed player did not have much left to do as she was dominated in the game from the very outset.

Andrea Petkovic rounded off the game in one hour and nineteen minutes beating her opponent quite convincingly as she went on to ensure her slot in the quarter-finals of Australian Open 2011. The former world number one seemed to be just a shadow of her earlier self as she committed 30 unforced errors on Sunday, in turn giving her opponent the perfect opportunity to take advantage of all her mistakes. During the second set, Maria Sharapova made a comeback from 2-0 down, going on to save two match points with the help of a double rocket forehands. However, Andrea Petkovic seemed to be at her dominating best as she never allowed the Russian to have an upperhand in the game while gradually cruising towards victory.

Meanwhile, the win must have been all the more sweet for Andrea Petkovic as she became the very first 23-year-old German to have registered a position in the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament. As for Maria Sharapova, the Russian ace tennis star has been struggling to make her mark since her return from a shoulder surgery in 2008.