Results and statistics from Maria Sharapova's 2008 tennis season.

Yearly summary

Australian Open series Sharapova began her season at the Australian Open, as the 5th seed. She won the tournament without dropping a set (or playing a tie-break set), as she gained redemption following the previous year's heavy defeat in the final to Serena Williams. En route, she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the second round, served three bagels (one each to Elena Vesnina, Elena Dementieva and World No. 1 Justine Henin, whom she defeated very impressively in the quarter-finals) and defeated Jelena Janković (who had defeated the defending champion Williams in the quarter-finals) in the semi-finals, before facing Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the final. In a match dubbed as the "Glam Slam final",Sharapova to put Ivanovic to test in glam slam final | Sport | The Guardian Sharapova upset the highly fancied Serb in straight sets to claim her first Australian Open title, and third Major title.Sharapova's comeback continues with Australian Open title - The New York Times

Middle East series After playing two Fed Cup rubbers for Russia to kick off February, Sharapova then competed at the Qatar Ladies Open. She defeated Galina Voskoboeva, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwańska (who had benefited from the withdrawal of top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round)Ivanovic strains ankle ligaments, out of Qatar Open – Tennis – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (21 February 2008). Retrieved on 10 March 2013. before facing (and defeating in three sets) Vera Zvonareva in the final.

Sharapova then withdrew from Dubai due to a viral infection.Sharapova withdraws from Dubai Championships - Tennis - ESPN

Indian Wells & Miami Sharapova reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells for the third time in four years, but was defeated there by compatriot and eventual runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, bringing an end to her 18-match winning streak to start the season.BBC Sport | Tennis | Sharapova run ended by Kuznetsova Following Indian Wells, Sharapova withdrew from Miami, citing a recurring shoulder injury.BBC Sport | Tennis | Injured Sharapova to miss Miami

Clay court season

American clay court season After withdrawing from Miami, Sharapova won her first career clay court title in Amelia Island, defeating Dominika Cibulková in the final.Sharapova beats Cibulkova at Amelia Island, wins 1st clay-court title - USATODAY.com At Charleston, she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarter-finals.Once again, Serena defeats Sharapova - Los Angeles Times

European clay court season After deciding to skip the 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open, Sharapova next played at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, reaching the semi-finals before being forced to withdraw from her match against eventual champion Jelena Janković due to a calf injury.Maria Sharapova withdraws, Jelena Jankovic to meet Alize Cornet in Rome final | Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Following Justine Henin's surprise retirement during the same week as the Rome event,Justine Henin announces retirement from tennis | Sport | guardian.co.uk Sharapova was elevated to World No. 1 in the rankings. Subsequently, she was named as the top seed at the French Open, which she needed to win to complete a Career Grand Slam (and thus protect her top ranking). After surviving a close final set against compatriot Evgeniya Rodina in the first round,Sharapova nearly blows first match - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au and another three-setter against Bethanie Mattek in the second, Sharapova fell in the fourth round in three sets to eventual finalist Dinara Safina, having held several match points in the second set.Sharapova banished as Federer advances - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au As a result, she lost her World No. 1 ranking, after just three weeks, to Ana Ivanovic, who went on to win the tournament.Sharapova to lose No.1 rank - Tennis - Sport - theage.com.au

Wimbledon Sharapova's 2008 Wimbledon campaign turned out to be short-lived, as she was defeated in the second round by Alla Kudryavtseva, in the process suffering her earliest ever defeat at Wimbledon, and her earliest defeat at a Major tournament since the 2003 US Open.BBC Sport | Fun and Games | Quotes of week

US Open series and shoulder injury Sharapova next played at the 2008 Rogers Cup, however she had to withdraw following her second round win against Marta Domachowska due to a recurring shoulder injury, which ended up being serious enough to necessitate surgery.Tennis: Sharapova wins then withdraws from Rogers Cup | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper As a result, Sharapova was forced to withdraw from her remaining tournaments for the year, including the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing, the US Open (thus missing her first Major tournament since her debut in 2003) and the year-end championships.Sharapova withdraws from U.S. Open | Toronto Star Her withdrawals from those events eventually led to her finishing the year ranked World No. 9, her lowest year-end singles ranking since 2003.

All matches This table chronicles all the matches of Sharapova in 2008, including walkovers (W/O) which the WTA does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.

Singles matches Tournament # Round Opponent Result Score Australian OpenMelbourne, AustraliaGrand SlamHard, outdoor14–27 January 2008 1 Jelena Kostanić Tošić 6–4, 6–3 2 Lindsay Davenport 6–1, 6–3 3 Elena Vesnina 6–3, 6–0 4 Elena Dementieva 6–2, 6–0 5 Justine Henin 6–4, 6–0 6 Jelena Janković 6–3, 6–1 7 Ana Ivanovic 7–5, 6–3 Fed Cup WG 1st Round Hard, indoor 2–3 February 2008 8 Tzipora Obziler 6–0, 6–4 9 Shahar Pe'er 6–1, 6–1 Qatar Ladies OpenDoha, QatarTier IHard, outdoor18–24 February 2008 Bye 10 Galina Voskoboeva 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 11 Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–2, 6–2 12 Caroline Wozniacki 6–0, 6–1 13 Agnieszka Radwańska 6–4, 6–3 14 Vera Zvonareva 6–1, 2–6, 6–0 Pacific Life OpenIndian Wells, United States of AmericaTier IHard, outdoor9 March–23 April 2008 Bye 15 Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro 6–1, 6–0 16 Eleni Daniilidou 7–5, 6–3 17 Alona Bondarenko 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 18 Daniela Hantuchová 7–6(7–2), 6–1 19 Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 7–5, 2–6 Bausch and Lomb ChampionshipsAmelia Island, United States of AmericaTier IIClay, outdoor7–13 April 2008 Bye 20 Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 6–1, 6–3 21 Anabel Medina Garrigues 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 7–6(7–1) 22 Alona Bondarenko 6–7(9–11), 6–3, 6–2 Lindsay Davenport N/A 23 Dominika Cibulková 7–6(9–7), 6–3 Family Circle CupCharleston, United States of AmericaTier IClay, outdoor14–20 April 2008 Bye 24 Bethanie Mattek 6–0, 6–0 25 Tatiana Perebiynis 7–5, 6–2 26 Serena Williams 5–7, 6–4, 1–6 Internazionali BNL d'ItaliaRome, ItalyTier IClay, outdoor12–18 May 2008 Bye 27 Dominika Cibulková 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 28 Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 7–6(7–3) 29 Patty Schnyder 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 6–2 Jelena Janković N/A French OpenParis, FranceGrand SlamClay, outdoor25 May–8 June 2008 30 Evgeniya Rodina 6–1, 3–6, 8–6 31 Bethanie Mattek 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 32 Karin Knapp 7–6(7–4), 6–0 33 Dinara Safina 7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 2–6 The Championships, WimbledonLondon, Great BritainGrand SlamGrass, outdoor23 June–6 July 2008 34 Stéphanie Foretz 6–1, 6–4 35 Alla Kudryavtseva 2–6, 4–6 Rogers CupMontreal, CanadaTier IHard, outdoor26 July–3 August 2008 Bye 36 Marta Domachowska 7–5, 5–7, 6–2 Ai Sugiyama N/A

Tournament schedule

Singles Schedule DateChampionshipLocationCategorySurfacePrev. resultNew resultOutcome 14 January 2008–27 January 2008 Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam tournament Hard F W Won in the final against Ana Ivanovic 18 February 2008–24 February 2008 Qatar Ladies Open Doha (QAT) Tier I Hard W Won in the final against Vera Zvonareva 9 March 2008–23 March 2008 Pacific Life Open Indian Wells (USA) Tier I Hard 4R SF Lost in the semi-finals against Svetlana Kuznetsova 7 April 2008–13 April 2008 Bausch and Lomb Championships Amelia Island (USA) Tier II Clay DNP W Won in the final against Dominika Cibulková 14 April 2008–20 April 2008 Family Circle Cup Charleston (USA) Tier I Clay DNP QF Lost in the quarter-finals against Serena Williams 12 May 2008–18 May 2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome (ITA) Tier I Clay SF Withdrew before semi-final (against Jelena Janković) 26 May 2008–8 June 2008 French Open Paris (FRA) Grand Slam Clay SF 4R Lost in the fourth round against Dinara Safina 23 June 20086 July 2008 The Championships, Wimbledon London (GBR) Grand Slam Grass 4R 2R Lost in the second round against Alla Kudryavtseva 26 July 2008–3 August 2008 Rogers Cup Montreal (CAN) Tier I Hard DNP 3R Withdrew before third round match (against Ai Sugiyama)

Yearly Records

Head-to-head matchups Ordered by percentage, number of victories to number of losses, then in alphabetical order

Alona Bondarenko 2–0 Dominika Cibulková 2–0 Bethanie Mattek 2–0 Caroline Wozniacki 2–0 Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro 1–0 Eleni Daniilidou 1–0 Lindsay Davenport 1–0 Elena Dementieva 1–0 Marta Domachowska 1–0 Stéphanie Foretz 1–0 Daniela Hantuchová 1–0 Justine Henin 1–0 Ana Ivanovic 1–0 Jelena Janković 1–0 Karin Knapp 1–0 Anabel Medina Garrigues 1–0 Tzipora Obziler 1–0 Shahar Pe'er 1–0 Agnieszka Radwańska 1–0 Evgeniya Rodina 1–0 Tamarine Tanasugarn 1–0 Jelena Kostanić Tošić 1–0 Tatiana Perebiynis 1–0 Patty Schnyder 1–0 Elena Vesnina 1–0 Galina Voskoboeva 1–0 Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 1–0 Vera Zvonareva 1–0 Alla Kudryavtseva 0–1 Svetlana Kuznetsova 0–1 Dinara Safina 0–1 Serena Williams 0–1

Finals

Singles: 3 (3–0) CategoryGrand Slam (1–0)WTA Tier I (1–0)WTA Tier II (1–0)Titles by surfaceHard (2–0)Clay (1–0)Titles by conditionsOutdoors (3–0)

OutcomeNo.DateChampionshipSurfaceOpponent in the finalScore in the finalWinner17.January 26, 2008 Melbourne, Australia (1)Hard Ana Ivanovic7–5, 6–3Winner18.February 24, 2008 Doha, Qatar (2)Hard Vera Zvonareva6–1, 2–6, 6–0Winner19.April 13, 2008 Amelia Island, USA (1)Clay Dominika Cibulková7–6(9–7), 6–3

See also 2008 Serena Williams tennis season 2008 WTA Tour

References

External links