Zheng Jie Of China Upsets Maria Sharapova In The Third Round Of The Indian Wells Masters.

Zheng Jie of China she scored an impressive  6-3 2-6 6-3 victory over Maria Sharapova yesterday in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters event. Zheng is very talented, she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in January.

Zheng proves once again, that the Chinese women are a threat to the top women and they are  marching to the top of women’s tennis.

Sharapova won a minor event in Memphis last month. I thought Sharapova was smart playing Memphis because I felt she needed some self confidence. However, the Memphis event is a tier III event which means the competition is not as tough.

Sharapova is still trying to reach the top ten of the WTA Tour in her comeback since she returned to the WTA Tour last summer.

Sharapova’s serve is still a hinderance, she still is not winning enough cheap points on her serve. When Sharapova was on top of her game, she was able to dictate the points with her huge serve. Sharapova has modified her serve because of her shoulder injury but something is not right. Maria seems uncertain on the court, I feel she is lost.

Sharapova is also six-foot two, she can reach more balls but she lacks the  mobility to chase the balls. The women are exposing Sharapova’s movement on the court they move her side to side and Maria just can’t handle it.

Sharapova is quick, but she is not as fast the Belgians or the Williams Sisters  because she lacks their  natural athleticism, flexibility, and diversity in her game.

The Belgians and the Williams Sisters have a plan B or C if plan A is not working. Sharapova needs to learn that sometimes she has to grind through her matches she can’t  just blast the ball.

Sharapova is still very young, she is only twenty two, but why doesn’t Maria play more doubles? Maria needs to add to her game now she has to realize she must do more on the court.

Maria needs a plan B and C on the court she has to realize she just cannot hit the ball hard all the time. I think Maria should play more doubles, she needs to learn to volley better and change the pace. Why doesn’t Maria use the moon balls strategy  like Arantxa Sanchez Vicario or Conchita Martinez used effectively against their opponents? Maria needs to take her opponents out of their rhythm.

Justine Henin of Belgium, she was  eliminated from the Indian Wells Masters by Gisela Dulko of Argentina  6-2 1-6 6-4.  I am not that surprised that Justine lost because she is still only three months into her comeback. Justine will reach the top ten of the WTA Tour during the clay court season. Justine will be a force at the French Open for sure.