Australian Open Tennis 2012 Contenders - Maria Sharapova
Current World number 14 and 2008 Australian Open Champion, Maria Sharapova comes to the Tournament in determined mood to retain her crown and continue her climb back up the rankings.
Sharapova was injured for most of 2008 and 2009 and only made her comeback at last years Wimbledon, since then the Russian has done well without making too many headlines. Sharapova is perhaps the most competitive player on tour, she never says die and never knows when she is beaten which means she is a dangerous opponent for anyone.
Latest Maria Sharapova Odds for the 2012 Australian Open Tennis
Sharapova has been labelled as a power attack minded baseliner by tennis critics. She is noted for having an excellent double-handed backhand and serves, particularly for the power and placement of these shots. She is also noted for having a good forehand. Her shots are penetrating and flat which support her attacking power game. Sharapova has decent agility for a tall lady and gets around the court with little difficulty. She is not a conventional volleyer, preferring to use a powerful swinging volley for net approaches. She has been trying to develop her "all-power" game, while also adding in slice, drop shots and drop volleys.
She is a three time Grand Slam winner, winning here in 2008, US Open in 2006 and Wimbledon in 2004. She has also been runner up here at the Australian Open Tennis Betting, losing to Serena Williams in the 2007 Final. Prior to that Sharapova reached the semi finals here in both 2006 and 2005. She clearly loves this Tournament and she might well be worth supporting in the tennis betting odds as she can never be ruled out.
