2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova will face 21-year-old Kazakh, Zarina Diyas in the fourth round tomorrow at the All England Club. The Russian superstar goes in as the overwhelming favorite, especially after dominating Diyas at the Australian Open earlier this year, 6-1, 6-1. The match was target practice for the five-time major champion, with the young Kazakh barely able to compete. However, Diyas just upset 14th-seeded Andrea Petkovic, whose aggressive game is similar to Sharapova’s.
At the Australian Open earlier this year, Sharapova hit 22 winners to Diyas’s 7. However, she also had more unforced errors, 19 to Diyas’s 14. No matter who wins or loses, the match will likely be the Russian’s hands. The fourth seed will be the one dictating play and controlling the baseline.
The unseeded Diyas may win if Sharapova has an off day and makes one too many unforced errors. The Kazakh’s strengths are her consistency and defense, and they must be in full flight if she wants to pull off an upset. She is also capable of hitting powerful serves and backhands at times, and will need to use those weapons in order to win on the grass.
Luckily, Diyas is playing at her favorite Grand Slam tournament, she reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon last year as well. Although Sharapova won her first major on the grass courts of the All England Club, she has only returned to the quarterfinals three times since winning in 2004. She does not move well on the grass, and at 6 foot 3, the low bounces do not favor her.
Although Diyas is a promising star on the women’s tour, the odds are against her to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this year’s Wimbledon. Sharapova will prove be too big of a task for her. Sharapova will defeat her fourth round curse that began at the 2014 Australian Open. In Grand Slam fourth rounds, she has lost to Dominika Cibulkova, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, and Lucie Safarova since the beginning of last year. They have all been formidable opponents, and three out of four went on to reach the final after defeating Sharapova. At this year’s Wimbledon, the curse will not continue.