Sharapova to Face Radwanska in Sony Ericsson Finals
World number two-ranked Maria Sharapova, a three-time runner-up at the Sony Ericsson Open, rallied to defeat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, advancing to the finals of the event where she will meet Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, a 6-4, 6-2 straight sets winner over France’s Marian Bartoli.
Sharapova won the match in two hours and 34 min. after Wozniacki objected against the umpires’ overrule of a call to Sharapova. Sharapova won seven of their total eight encounters. Sharapova served for the match when her second serve was called long; however, the chair umpire overruled the call, resulting in a replay of the point. Wozniacki was not a fan of that call and had no video challenges left to argue with. Wozniacki refused to shake hands with the chair umpire after the match and said it did not matter regardless if the chair umpire was right or wrong.
"I think when the ball is so close that I think he should give her a chance to challenge at least when I don’t have any challenges," Wozniacki said.
Radwanska advanced to her first ever Sony Ericsson Open, recording her 25th victory of the year in the process. In a match that featured 15 service breaks, Radwanska broke Bartoli nine times to increase her undefeated reign over the Frenchwoman to a perfect 7-0 mark.
Sharapova is a three-time Sony Ericsson Open finalist, while Radwanska makes her first appearance in the finals.
"It’s always hard to play against her if she’s in good shape. It’s really tough," Radwanska said of Sharapova. "She’s really hitting the ball very hard and going for it since the beginning. I’m just going to try to also play aggressive and pretty much mix everything. We’ll see what is going to work."
