Azarenka routs Sharapova in Australian Open final

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus absolutely routed Maria Sharapova of Russia Saturday night to not only claim the 2012 Australian Open title, but also to take over the World No. 1 ranking.

The match was over in just 1 hour 22 minutes as Azarenka handily took down three-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova 6-3, 6-0, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.

It was Azarenka’s first Grand Slam final appearance, winning 11 straight matches to get there. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year.

Australian Open Final set – Azarenka vs. Sharapova

Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova are set for a final battle with nothing more on the line than the Australian Open Title, and the World No. 1 ranking.

In one semifinal, the No. 4 seed, Sharapova, showing a remarkable comeback after shoulder surgery, defeated the No. 2 seed, Petra Kvitova in a close contest, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. No one has ever come back this far after the type of surgery she has had.

In the other semifinal, No. 3 seed, Azarenka, downed No. 11 seed Kim Clijsters in an equally close match, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Azarenka defeats Clijsters to gain first major final

No. 3 seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, won a hard-fought semifinal match over No. 11 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to her first ever major final at the 2012 Australian Open.

Azarenka won the first set 6-4, then fell apart to lose the 2nd set 1-6. Clijsters was broken early in the 3rd set, but surged back, saving many game points to break back. Azarenka, however, stayed strong, breaking three times in the third set to secure victory in only her second appearance in the semifinal of a major.

Clijsters knocks Wozniacki from the top ranking

In a close match, Kim Clijsters of Belgium has effectively knocked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark from her perch as World No. 1. In the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(7-4).

Wozniacki will now be usurped by either Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, or Maria Sharapova, all three of whom are still in contention.

Clijsters dominated from the baseline for much of the match, and showed no visible effects from the twisted ankle she suffered against Na Li in the fourth round.

Makarova downs Serena Williams in stunning upset

In a stunning upset, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova of Russia defeated No. 12 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 in round 4 of the Australian Open.

Williams had seven double faults, several to set up break points, to allow Makarova to earn one of the biggest wins of her career. Makarova now advances to the quarterfinals against either 2008 champion Maria Sharapova or Sabine Lisicki

Williams came into the tournament with a badly-injured left ankle that forced her to pull out of a warmup tournament in Brisbane two weeks ago. In the match she appeared to be moving well, but made 37 unforced errors and had her service broken while trying to stay in the match.

Sharapova crushes Hamption to advance to round 3

No. 4 seed, former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova of Russia completely crushed No. 144 ranked Jamie Hampton of the USA on Thursday in Melbourne, to advance to round three of the 2012 Australian Open.

The match lasted just 64 minutes, and Sharapova allowed Hampton only one game, taking the match 6-0, 6-1.

It was Sharapova’s first event of the season because of a lingering ankle injury.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova won the Australian Open in 2008.

She will next face German Angelique Kerber, who defeated Canada’s Stephanie Dubois 7-5, 6-1.

Sharapova withdraws with ankle injury

World No. 2 Maria Sharapova of Russia came down awkwardly after a serve in her quarterfinal match in Tokyo and fell to the court when her left ankle buckled.

Just minutes later, the ankle was swollen to twice its normal size and the three-time Grand Slam champion had to be helped out of the locker room and taken to a hospital for an MRI. On her website Sharapova said “good news is that the MRI showed no big damage in the ankle.”

She has pulled out of the China Open next week but hopes to play at the prestigious WTA Championships scheduled to begin October 25 in Istanbul.

Sharapova ousted by Pennetta at US Open

No. 3 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia, went down in defeat today to No. 25 ranked Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in round 3 of the U.S. Open.

Maria’s serve was part of the problem that led to her early exit, committing a dozen double-faults. That really came as no surprise, as Maria’s serve has been causing her lots of problems since her shoulder surgery. What was surprising though was that Maria’s shots let her down in the third set. Maria was unbeaten this year in 12 previous matches that went three sets. But today she dropped the last seven points in a match that lasted 2 1/2 hours. After trailing 3-0 and 4-1 in the last set, Maria turned things around briefly, getting to 4-all, 15-30 on Flavia’s serve, looking once again like she might be able to pull out a come-from-behind 3-setter. But the 2006 U.S. Open champion wouldn’t win another point.

Sharapova survives scare at U.S. Open

No. 4 seed, Maria Sharapova, survived a scare in the first round of the U.S. Open, narrowly defeating 19-year-old Heather Watson of England, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Sharapova, who won the U.S. Open in 2006, needed 2 hours, 34 minutes to beat the British teenager, who is ranked No. 104 in the world. Watson was making her U..S. Open debut.

Sharapova had to overcome 58 unforced errors and eight double faults to bring her 2011 record to 12-0 in 3-set matches.

Kvitova downs Sharapova for Wimbledon championship

No. 8 seed, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, realized her dream to become a Wimbledon champion by defeating a former Wimbledon champion, No. 5 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

It looked to be a great final from the start, as Sharapova was finally able to make it back to the Wimbledon final after a seven-year drought. But 21-year-old Kvitova was up to the task in her first Wimbledon final with a powerful lefty serve and powerful lforehand that kept Sharapova off balance throughout the match.