Maria Sharapova added to her tennis resume with a championship at the Australian Open. It was a 7-5 and 6-3 win over Ana Ivanovic.

As both players had some difficulties with their first serves, it was Maria Sharapova who had an early break in the first set. She followed that with some serving flaws in which she had a back to back double fault. Nevertheless, Ms Sharapova was steady enough to recover and took advantage of first serve errors by Ms Ivanovic. The Australian heat was a factor. And it was not an evening game. A look at the records will show that Ms Sharapova plays even better in the evenings.

By comparison, Ana Ivanovic was much steadier in the first set than in her match against Daniela Hantuchova. A crucial moment for Ms Ivanovic was a missed dropped shot. It was one shot that would have increased pressure on Ms Sharapova. Ana Ivanovic will have other chances. She defeated Venus Williams and had a marvelous comeback against Daniel Hantuchova. Ms Ivanovic has wonderful court coverage and similar shot skills as Ms Sharapova. Ana Ivanovic just happen to meet Maria Sharapova who may be playing some of her finest tennis.

This day belonged to Maria Sharapova. Count on Ana Ivanovic to be even better in her next final. It is only a matter of time for Ms Ivanovic. Grand slam championships will find her.

Catherine Forsythe

[tag]tennis, australian open, maria sharapova, ana ivanovic, championships[/tag]