Maria Sharapova

Current World number 2 and reigning Australian Open Champion, Maria Sharapova comes to the Tournament in determined mood to retain her crown and regain her world number one spot, which she lost to Ana Ivanovic after her quarter final exit at the French Open last year.

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 last year, 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.