Sharapova wins first set of Oz final against Ivanovic
Maria Sharapova has won a see-sawing first set of the Australian Open women’s final against Ana Ivanovic 7-5.
Games went on serve in the first four games in the Melbourne heat, before the Russian stepped up the tempo. With deep, powerful groundstrokes, Sharapova forced the Serbian into error, breaking serve.
Such was the dominance of the Sharapova serve, Ivanovic didn’t win a point when receiving until Sharapova’s fourth service game. Once she did, the world number three took advantage of a now nervous Sharapova, who double faulted twice on the way to handing her break back.
Ivanovic then got a fit of the wobbles, taking unnecessary risks with low-percentage shots. The Russian regained her composure to hold serve in the tenth game, before breaking again.
Two-time slam champion Sharapova served out the set to love to close out the first set in 47 minutes.
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