Sharapova's dream shattered
AFP, Berlin
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova's dreams of becoming world number one were ended in devastating fashion by former top ranked player Justine Henin-Hardenne in the quarterfinals of the German Open on Friday. The Belgian eased to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the top-seeded 18-year-old Russian who would have ascended to the world top spot had she won the tournament here. The victory was Henin-Hardenne's 15th in a row and she now faces Patty Schnyder from Switzerland in the semifinals. Meanwhile, former world number one Amelie Mauresmo looks set for another rocky ride in Roland Garros after the defending champion fell in straight sets to Russian Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals. Mauresmo would like nothing better than to fulfill the desires of most of Paris by winning the clay court Grand Slam which starts in two weeks' time - but her 6-3, 6-2 loss to the world number 12 does not augur well. The title-holder rarely seemed seriously in contention against the sixth-seeded Russian, who served more strongly, drove more consistently, and moved better from start to finish. Mauresmo's serve rarely appeared to rise above second gear, giving the impression that she may still not have recovered from the abdominal muscle problem which has prevented her competing for more than a month. Her only consolation was that she has been able to play three matches here at a stage when she has been in need of on-court time, and appeared to get match practice without worsening the persistent injury. "At the moment my expectations are pretty low," Mauresmo admitted. "My view is that I rally need to improve, and improve in all areas of the game. I must make sure that I play as many matches as I can and hit as many balls as I can and that's the key. I wasn't able to do that in the last few weeks and it showed on court," added the Frenchwoman. Petrova may also have been helped by the conditions, which were cold and slow, rain having delayed the start by an hour. "The clay suited me because it slowed down her game and I was able to prevent her playing her favourite tennis," she said. "I did that by giving her deep balls and keeping the pressure on so that she could only get out of it by trying to raise her level and by going for winners. "I was pleased that I was very solid and didn't make many mistakes and felt like I was in charge of the match."
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