TENNIS:So the Australian Open has the glam slam final it desired. Russia's Maria Sharapova and Serbia's Ana Ivanovic have raised their games to a level that has singled them out as the two outstanding women of the tournament.
On Saturday, Sharapova will look to win here for the first time for her third grand slam title while Ivanovic is chasing her first major. Both are 20, though in terms of relative experience Ivanovic is an ingenue.
From the moment Sharapova won the Wimbledon singles title at 17 in 2004 she appeared destined to dominate the sport. In one respect she already has, earning the sort of money from her off-court endorsements that even Roger Federer cannot match. But whereas he has 12 grand slam titles, the US-based Russian has two.
A heavy defeat by Serena Williams in the final here last year, coupled with a debilitating shoulder injury, raised further questions about Sharapova's future, ones she had appeared to answer after winning the US Open title in 2006 by beating Justin Henin 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
At Flushing Meadows she discovered a new-found maturity that seemed likely to lift her to a higher plane. Then came the shoulder problem that badly affected her serve and it was not until the end-of-season WTA Tour Championship final against Henin in Madrid that she displayed clear signs of a complete rehabilitation.
She lost to the Belgian, mainly because she ran out of gas, having played so little tennis, but nevertheless the performance in Spain buoyed her confidence.
Having slipped to fifth in the rankings, she knew the really big match here was always going to be the quarter-final against Henin. Prior to that meeting this week the Russian had not dropped a set, though the quality and dominance of her victory over the world number one, whom she defeated 6-4, 6-0, was an eye-opener for everybody.
Sharapova served beautifully, and while everybody knew she could strike the forte chords, the delicate touches of pianissimo were more of a surprise.
Whereas Sharapova's semi-final victory over Jelena Jankovic was straightforward Ivanovic had to recover from being 6-0, 2-0 down against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, a match blighted by ill-feeling after the victor was accused of using squeaky shoes to gain an unfair advantage.
Ivanovic admitted feeling emotionally flat after her quarter-final win over Venus Williams and will today keep a low profile to conserve mental and emotional energy.
In Ivanovic's first major final at Roland Garros last year nerves shredded her game and she lost 6-1, 6-2 to Henin. She will be desperate for that not to happen again, although Sharapova is bound to put her under huge pressure.
"It's been a good ride so far but it's not over yet," said Sharapova ominously.
