2014 Maria Sharapova tennis season

2014 Maria Sharapova tennis season

Sharapova at the 2014 French Open.
Full name	Maria Sharapova
Country	Russia
Calendar prize money	$4,199,222
Singles
Season record	46–11 (80.7%)
Calendar titles	3
Current ranking	No. 4 (29 September 2014)
Ranking change from previous year	2
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian Open	4R
French Open	W
Wimbledon	4R
US Open	4R
Last updated on: 28 August 2014.

Main article: Maria Sharapova

The 2014 Maria Sharapova tennis season officially began on 30 December 2013 with the start of the 2014 WTA Tour. Sharapova began the season having only played one match since the previous June due to a shoulder injury.

Year in Detail

Early hard court season and Australian Open

Brisbane International

Sharapova began her season at the Brisbane International, having pulled out of the event in the previous two seasons. Her comeback began with a straightforward 6-3, 6-0 win over Caroline Garcia. She then received a walkover before her second round match with home favourite Ashleigh Barty, with Barty citing a left adducator tear as reason for her withdrawal. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova played world #30 Kaia Kanepi and prevailed in three sets, having lost the opener to the Estonian. Sharapova's run ended in the semifinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) defeat to world #1 Serena Williams. The defeat was Sharapova's fourteenth consecutive defeat to Williams, a run stretching back to 2004. Despite the defeat, Sharapova's world ranking climbed slightly to world #3, overtaking Li Na.

Australian Open

Sharapova's next tournament was the first major of the year, the Australian Open, an event she had previously won in 2008. She was seeded third and was defending heavy points from the previous years semifinal, which she lost in straight sets to Li Na. Sharapova began her title bid against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and prevailed 6-3, 6-4. She then faced Italian Karin Knapp in the second round and ultimately won 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, in a match that lasted for almost three and a half hours. Following the match, the tournament was criticized from some quarters, for allowing the match to continue under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena, despite play being stopped on all other courts due to the tournaments Extreme Heat policy. Sharapova later played down the complaints stating "I think you just get numb to [the heat], it just doesn't faze you any more. I'm happy - these are the matches that you work for." Next, Sharapova had a much easier time in the third round, defeating French 25th seed Alizé Cornet in straight sets 6-1, 7-6. Her run however came to an end in the fourth round, when she lost in three sets to the Slovakian 20th seed (and eventual finalist) Dominika Cibulková. Sharapova had won the first set 6-3, but the lost the next two sets to be eliminated from the competition. Sharapova's ranking fell two places to world #5 after the tournament.

Paris Open GDF Suez

Following defeat at the Australian Open, Sharapova entered the Premier level Open GDF Suez in Paris as the top seed. Her confectionery venture Sugarpova was one of the tournaments primary sponsors. She began the event with a straightforward 6-0, 6-1 victory over world #31 Daniela Hantuchová, her ninth consecutive win over the Slovak after losing their opening meeting in 2004. She then progressed through the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kirsten Flipkens, before losing to compatriot and eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinal match. Sharapova had again won the first set, before Pavlyuchenkova came back to win in three, to claim her first career victory over Sharapova. Sharapova's ranking remained steady at world #5 after the event.

BNP Paribas Open

After not playing during the month of February, Sharapova returned to action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. She was the defending champion at the event, having beaten Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2 in the 2013 final. As the fourth seed, Sharapova received a bye in the first round and thus began her title defence in the second round, facing German world #86 Julia Görges. Sharapova made short work of her opponent, winning 6-1, 6-4. In the third round, Sharapova faced 22 year old qualifier Camila Giorgi for the first time in her career. Despite being the heavy favourite to progress, Sharapova was stunned by Giorgi in three sets, losing the defence of her title 3-6, 6-4, 5-7. The early defeat proved costly for Sharapova's ranking, which dropped two further places to world #7 after the event.

2014 Sony Open Tennis

After her early loss at Indian Wells, Sharapova looked to bounce back at the Sony Open Tennis event in Key Biscayne, Florida. Sharapova entered the tournament having been the beaten finalist on five previous occasions, including the last three editions of the competition, losing against Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena Williams respectively. Despite her ranking having dropped to #7, she entered the tournament as the fourth seed and again received a bye to the second round. There, Sharapova played her first career meeting with Japan's Kurumi Nara and won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, to set up a third round match against world #26 Lucie Šafářová. Though Sharapova failed to convert two match points in the second set (and eight overall), she eventually overcame her Czech opponent on her ninth match point, winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round. She next faced Kirsten Flipkens, and despite never previously losing a set to her opponent (including at their previous 2014 meeting in Paris), she lost the first set 3-6. However, Sharapova then regrouped and won the following two sets 6-4, 6-1 to advance the quarterfinals. There, Sharapova earned her first top ten victory of the year, seeing off world #8 Petra Kvitová 7-5, 6-1, to set up a semifinal rematch against Serena Williams. However, despite making a strong start, Sharapova once again fell foul of the world #1, losing 6-4, 6-3. The defeat was Sharapova's third semifinal loss of 2014, each to the eventual winner of the tournament. Sharapova again dropped slightly in the rankings to world #9, her lowest position since returning to the top 10 in 2011.

Spring clay court season and French Open

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Sharapova began her clay court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. She entered the tournament having never previously lost at the event, and as the two-time defending champion following her victories over Victoria Azarenka and Li Na in the 2012 and 2013 finals respectively. Seeded sixth, Sharapova began her campaign facing Lucie Šafářová for the second time in 2014, and their match proved just as dramatic as their previous encounter in Key Biscayne, with Sharapova ultimately prevailing in three hours and twenty four minutes, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, having previously being two points from defeat in the final set. The second round proved to be far more straightforward for Sharapova, as she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 to avenge her earlier defeat to the Russian in Paris. In the subsequent quarterfinals, Sharapova beat top seed and world #3 Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets, and then advanced to her third consecutive Stuttgart final by comfortably beating Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals, setting up a title decider with world #12 Ana Ivanovic. The match was the first final to be contested between the pair since the 2008 Australian Open, won by Sharapova. Ivanovic started the final strong, winning the first set 6-3 and taking a 3-1 lead in the second, however Sharapova then recovered, winning 11 of the remaining 13 games to claim her third consecutive title at Stuttgart with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win. The victory secured Sharapova's first title of the year, and the first since her previous visit to the event. Stuttgart is the first title that Sharapova has ever won on three occasions in her career.

Mutua Madrid Open

Next, Sharapova traveled to Spain, for the Mutua Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event. She entered the tournament as the eighth seed, defending finalist points after her defeat to Serena Williams in the 2013 title decider. Following a comfortable first round victory over Klara Koukalová, Sharapova was forced to rally from a 1-4 deficit in the final set against Christina McHale in the second round, eventually prevailing 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. In the third round, Sharapova continued her dominance over Australian Samantha Stosur, earning a 6-4, 6-3 victory, her twelfth over Stosur in fourteen career meetings. Sharapova was once again involved in a narrow three setter in her quarterfinal match, beating world #2 Li Na 2-6, 7-6, 6-3. She then beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinal, to earn a berth in the Madrid final for the second time in a row. This time she faced world #5 Simona Halep for the title, but started slowly, losing the first set 6-1. From there however, Sharapova slowly regained her dominance in the game, and eventually came out the victor, earning her first Madrid title and her second overall in 2014 with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Following the match, Sharapova's world ranking recovered slightly back to world #7. She remains unbeaten on clay in 2014 and is currently on an eleven match winning streak.

Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Aiming for her third consecutive title, and to keep her unbeaten clay court record alive, Sharapova went to Italy to contest in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, a Premier 5 tournament. As she entered the tournament as the eighth seed, she had a bye in the first round. Sharapova struggled through her second round match against Monica Puig, coming back from a 2-1 deficit in the first set and a 4-1 deficit in the second to win the match 6-3, 7-5. In the third round, Sharapova faced eleventh seed Ana Ivanovic, who she defeated in Stuttgart. Despite Sharapova winning their last six meetings, she lost to Ivanovic 1-6. 4-6.

French Open

Sharapova was seeded seventh at this year French Open. She played Ksenia Pervak, Tsvetana Pironkova and Paula Ormaechea in the opening rounds, and dominated all three matches in straight sets, including a "double bagel" over Ormaechea. In round four Sharapova played Australian 19th seed Samantha Stosur. She dropped the first set and found herself 3-4 down in the second, before improving and winning all nine of the remaining games. In the quarter final, Sharapova faced Garbine Muguruza who had knocked out Serena Williams in the second round. Sharapova started slowly, losing the first set 1-6 and being broken in the second set. However, she again made a late comeback and came out the 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 winner, to set up a fourth consecutive French Open semifinal. Here, she played Eugenie Bouchard, the 18th seed. For a third consecutive match, she came from a set down to win the match 4-6 7-5 6-2. In the grand final, her opponent was Romanian 4th seed, and Grand Slam final debutante, Simona Halep. In what was later described as one of the best Grand Slam finals in years, Sharapova claimed the first set 6-4, before losing the second set tiebreak to Halep. Despite struggling early in the third set, Sharapova's experience prevailed and after over three hours, she emerged victorious with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 win, claiming her fifth Grand Slam title, and second at the French Open. After the tournament, Sharapova's ranking improved to World #5, and she also claimed top spot in the WTA's "Road to Singapore" leaderboard. Following the early end to her 2013 season, Sharapova additionally only has 101 points to defend until the end of the year.

Grasscourt Season

Wimbledon

Sharapova was seeded fifth at this year Wimbledon, defending second round points after her shock defeat to Michelle Larcher de Brito in 2013. She quickly improved on her previous result, with quick wins over local wildcard Samantha Murray and qualifier Timea Bacsinszky. She then continued her strong start over grass-court specialist Alison Riske 6-3, 6-0 to set up a fourth round clash with world #7 Angelique Kerber.

US Open Series & US Open

Rogers Cup

Sharapova began the 2014 US Open Series at the Rogers Cup, where she gained a top 4 seeding for the first time since the Sony Open in March, by virtue of Li Na's withdrawal from the tournament with a knee injury. Receiving a bye through the first round, Maria opened up her campaign against Garbiñe Muguruza, whom she had defeated in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros earlier in the year. Following a quick start by her opponent, which saw Sharapova fall behind a set and a break, Maria broke back in the fourth game of the second set and won eleven of the last thirteen games to win the match 4–6, 6–3, 6–1. In her third round match, Sharapova faced Muguruza's doubles partner Carla Suárez Navarro. Another slow start saw Sharapova fall in to a quick 0–5 deficit in the first set and although she was able to hold and break Suárez Navarro's serve for 2–5, Carla broke to win the first set 2–6. Sharapova was twice a break down in the second set at 0–2 and 1–3 but she broke back both times and leveled the match by winning the set 6–4. The match had been littered with rain delays and the final one of the match saw Sharapova come out to another slow start in the third set, which Sharapova consequently lost 2–6. This was Maria's first loss to Suárez Navarro, tying their head-to-head at one apiece.

Western & Southern Open

Sharapova next participated at cincinnati where she was seeded 5th.After a first round bye she defeated madison keys and anastasia pavlychenkova in the 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively.She then defeated world no.2 simona halep in the qaurterfinals for the 3rd straight time this year.But she was surprised by ana ivanovic in the semis though she held 2 match points in the 3rd set.

US OPEN

Sharapova was seeded 5th at the last grand slam of the year.She defeated compatriot maria kirilenko,alexandra dulgheru and sabine lisicki in the first 3 rounds to set up a mouth watering clash with caroline wozniacki who was in red hot form.Sharapova lost in 3 tight sets to the eventual finalist but still ascended to no.4 in the world.

All matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent	Rank	Result	Score
Brisbane International Brisbane, Australia WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 30 December 2013 – 5 January 2014	1	1R	Caroline Garcia	#74	Win	6–3, 6–0
	-	2R	Ashleigh Barty (Q)	#190	Walkover	N/A
	2	QF	Kaia Kanepi	#30	Win	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
	3	SF	Serena Williams	#1	Loss	2–6, 6–7(7–9)
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 13–26 January 2014	4	1R	Bethanie Mattek-Sands	#41	Win	6–3, 6–4
	5	2R	Karin Knapp	#44	Win	6–3, 4–6, 10–8
	6	3R	Alizé Cornet	#25	Win	6–1, 7–6 (8–6)
	7	4R	Dominika Cibulková	#24	Loss	6–2, 4–6, 1–6
Open GDF Suez Paris, France WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 27 January - 2 February 2014	-	1R	Bye
	8	2R	Daniela Hantuchová	#31	Win	6–0, 6–1
	9	QF	Kirsten Flipkens	#21	Win	6–2, 6–2
	10	SF	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	#26	Loss	6–4, 3–6, 4–6
BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 3–16 March 2014	-	1R	Bye
	11	2R	Julia Görges	#86	Win	6–1, 6–4
	12	3R	Camila Giorgi (Q)	#79	Loss	3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Sony Open Tennis Key Biscayne, United States WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 17–30 March 2014	-	1R	Bye
	13	2R	Kurumi Nara	#45	Win	6–3, 6–4
	14	3R	Lucie Šafářová	#27	Win	6–4, 6–7(7–9), 6–2
	15	4R	Kirsten Flipkens	#23	Win	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
	16	QF	Petra Kvitová	#8	Win	7–5, 6–1
	17	SF	Serena Williams	#1	Loss	4–6, 3–6
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart, Germany WTA Premier Clay (red), indoor 21–27 April 2014	18	1R	Lucie Šafářová	#26	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–2)
	19	2R	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	#25	Win	6–4, 6–3
	20	QF	Agnieszka Radwanska	#3	Win	6–4, 6–3
	21	SF	Sara Errani	#11	Win	6–1, 6–2
	22	F	Ana Ivanovic	#12	Win (1)	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain WTA Premier Mandatory Clay, outdoor 2–11 May 2014	23	1R	Klara Koukalová	#31	Win	6–1, 6–2
	24	2R	Christina McHale	#56	Win	6–1, 4–6, 6–4
	25	3R	Samantha Stosur	#19	Win	6–4, 6–3
	26	QF	Li Na	#2	Win	2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3
	27	SF	Agnieszka Radwanska	#3	Win	6-1, 6-4
	28	F	Simona Halep	#5	Win (2)	1–6, 6–2, 6–3
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy WTA Premier Five Clay, outdoor 12–18 May 2014	-	1R	Bye
	29	2R	Monica Puig	#60	Win	6–3, 7–5
	30	3R	Ana Ivanovic	#13	Loss	1–6, 4–6
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay, outdoor 25 May - 7 June 2014	31	1R	Ksenia Pervak (Q)	#160	Win	6–1, 6–2
	32	2R	Tsvetana Pironkova	#42	Win	7–5, 6–2
	33	3R	Paula Ormaechea	#75	Win	6–0, 6–0
	34	4R	Samantha Stosur	#18	Win	3–6, 6–4, 6–0
	35	QF	Garbiñe Muguruza	#35	Win	1–6, 7–5, 6–1
	36	SF	Eugenie Bouchard	#16	Win	4–6, 7–5, 6–2
	37	F	Simona Halep	#4	Win (3)	6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–4
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam Grass, outdoor 23 June – 6 July 2014	38	1R	Samantha Murray (WC)	#247	Win	6–1, 6–0
	39	2R	Timea Bacsinszky (Q)	#85	Win	6–2, 6–1
	40	3R	Alison Riske	#44	Win	6–3, 6–0
	41	4R	Angelique Kerber	#7	Loss	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 4–6
Rogers Cup Montreal, Canada WTA Premier Five Hard, outdoor 4–10 August 2014	-	1R	Bye
	42	2R	Garbiñe Muguruza	#27	Win	4–6, 6–3, 6–1
	43	3R	Carla Suarez Navarro	#16	Loss	2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Western & Southern Open Cincinnati, United States of America WTA Premier Five Hard, outdoor 11–17 August 2014	-	1R	Bye
	44	2R	Madison Keys	#28	Win	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
	45	3R	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	#25	Win	6–4, 7–6 (7–2)
	46	QF	Simona Halep	#2	Win	3–6, 6–4, 6–4
	47	SF	Ana Ivanovic	#11	Loss	2–6, 7–5, 5–7
US Open New York, United States Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 25 August – 8 September 2014	48	1R	Maria Kirilenko	#113	Win	6–4, 6–0
	49	2R	Alexandra Dulgheru	#95	Win	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
	50	3R	Sabine Lisicki	#28	Win	6–2, 6–4
	51	4R	Caroline Wozniacki	#11	Loss	4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Wuhan Open Wuhan, China WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 21–27 September 2014	-	1R	Bye
	52	2R	Svetlana Kuznetsova	#25	Win	3–6, 6–2, 6–2
	53	3R	Timea Bacsinszky	#61	Loss	6–7(3–7), 5–7
China Open Beijing, China WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 29 September – 5 October 2014	54	1R	Kaia Kanepi	#45	Win	6–4, 6–1
	55	2R	Elina Svitolina	#33	Win	6–2, 6-2
	56	3R	Carla Suárez Navarro	#18	Win	6–1, 7–6(7–3)
	57	QF	Svetlana Kuznetsova	#27	Win	6-0, 6-4
	58	SF	Ana Ivanovic	#9	pending

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Ordered by number of wins, as of Beijing QF

• Simona Halep 3–0
• Kirsten Flipkens 2–0
• Kaia Kanepi 2–0
• Svetlana Kuznetsova 2–0
• Garbiñe Muguruza 2–0
• Agnieszka Radwanska 2–0
• Lucie Šafářová 2–0
• Samantha Stosur 2–0
• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2–1
• Eugenie Bouchard 1-0
• Alizé Cornet 1–0
• Alexandra Dulgheru 1-0
• Sara Errani 1–0
• Caroline Garcia 1–0

• Julia Görges 1–0
• Daniela Hantuchová 1–0
• Madison Keys 1–0
• Maria Kirilenko 1–0
• Karin Knapp 1–0
• Klara Koukalová 1–0
• Petra Kvitová 1–0
• Li Na 1–0
• Sabine Lisicki 1-0
• Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1–0
• Christina McHale 1–0
• Samantha Murray 1–0
• Kurumi Nara 1–0

• Paula Ormaechea 1–0
• Ksenia Pervak 1–0
• Tsvetana Pironkova 1–0
• Monica Puig 1–0
• Alison Riske 1–0
• Elina Svitolina 1–0
• Timea Bacsinszky 1–1
• Carla Suárez Navarro 1–1
• Ana Ivanovic 1–2
• Dominika Cibulková 0–1
• Camila Giorgi 0–1
• Angelique Kerber 0–1
• Caroline Wozniacki 0–1
• Serena Williams 0–2

Finals

Singles: 3 (3-0)

Legend Grand Slams (1–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) WTA Premier Mandatory (1–0) WTA Premier 5 (0–0) WTA Premier (1–0) WTA International (0–0)

Finals by surface Clay (3–0)

Finals by venue Outdoors (2–0) Indoors (1–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	30.	April 27, 2014	Stuttgart Open, Stuttgart, Germany (3)	Clay (i)	Ana Ivanovic	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner	31.	May 11, 2014	Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain	Clay	Simona Halep	1–6, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	32.	June 7, 2014	French Open, Paris, France (2)	Clay	Simona Halep	6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–4

Earnings

#	Event	Prize money	Year-to-date
1	Brisbane Open	$56,298	$56,298
2	Australian Open	$119,683	$175,981
3	Open GDF Suez	$34,350	$210,331
4	BNP Paribas Open	$28,000	$238,331
5	Sony Open Tennis	$192,485	$430,816
6	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix	$120,000	$550,816
7	Mutua Madrid Open	$938,101	$1,488,917
8	Internazionali BNL d'Italia	$27,354	$1,516,271
9	French Open	$2,174,835	$3,691,106
10	Wimbledon	$182,354	$3,873,460
11	Rogers Cup	$24,630	$3,898,090
12	Western & Southern Open	$113,770	$4,011,860
13	US Open	$187,362	$4,199,222
14	Wuhan Open		$4,199,222
			$4,119,222

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

See also

• 2014 Victoria Azarenka tennis season
• 2014 Li Na tennis season
• 2014 Serena Williams tennis season
• 2014 WTA Tour
• Maria Sharapova career statistics