Masha will bounce back tomorrow and beat Li Na

remember this was a straight sets win too...so you have to like her chances of going to the semis...if she doesnt face kvitova in the semis i like her chances of getting to the final...

Kiu, why is Sharapova called Masha?

Slate,

(Ma)ria (Sha)rapova. Hope that helps!

I'm really starting to dislike Stosur. First she takes down Serena in the US Open final, now Maria? She's officially on my radar.

Russian nickname:
Maria -> Masha

badly bungled a backhand beyond the baseline
lol Richard you can't resist an alliterative turn of phrase.

Great writeup though, I caught the last set of Caro/Aggie then had to miss this, but felt like I'd actually been there from reading your piece.

A real shame if Masha hadn't injured her ankle her form coming in would probably be exceptional and she'd be the clear favorite.

Maria hasn't played enough tennis since Tokyo :( hopefully she'll turn her form around

Thanks for the Masha explanations. I am told it has a not so nice meaning in Russian.

Oh, that's as cute as wrong:
- why is Sharapova called Masha?
- (Ma)ria (Sha)rapova. Hope that helps!

Just in case, Slate:
it has nothing to do with her surname. -sha is a specifically Russian ending of many diminutives, like Sasha (Alexandr(a)), Misha (Mikhail), etc.

I too think Stosur will go on to reach the final where she'll beat Kvitova in a close 3 setter.

Good article and all credit to Sam Stosur for playing a very good match. Masha will be back people! I think Masha will bounce back with a win tomorrow against the tough Li Na.

**sharapova hasnt played any tennis since tokyo, was viewing her match when she did ankle in..its a bit of a surprise shes playing here at all.

Hahahaha sorry for completely misleading you Slate. I genuinely thought that it was because of the beginnings of her names. My apologies, I'm a bit embarrassed :P

You're wrong about the Ma (Maria) Sha(sharapova) nickname.
Masha (or Mashenka) is the Russian diminutive for Mary or Maria. It's just coincidence that her surname is Sharapova so it appears one can use the JoLo logic.

I just had a feeling my girl (Sam) would prevail tonight, but I also had that feeling the last nine times. I have a feeling (another one) that the Aussie will or at least can win this with MaSha out of the way! Go Stosur!

See sharapova lose: NO PRICE!!!!!!!

The Stosur rocks!

this year's championship is really up for grabs for anyone, sorry to say.

Sam won well today. She was alert from the first ball until the last one. Maria was very rusty in the first set and that was too much advantage against a strong opponent like Sam. I really want Maria wins against Li, but I'm not so sure about that. Anyway, I like Sam, Vika, Petra and Caroline chances to go to the semis.

Stosur has a 6-0 record against Li. Li confessed on several occasions that she just couldn't handle Stosur's serve, so it is safe to say Stosur should have this win. And if she wins at least one set from Aza, she will be safely through to the SF. Li, not much chance of going anywhere, her goal for the campaign was "one win", using her own words. So much for the reigning FO champ.

Not sure how Radwanska's shoulder will hold up. Kvitova looks sharp. Like her backhand slices today - nice to see some variety.

Woz got lucky today. When you were serving 4-2, 40-0 in the 3rd set, you got broken on a DF, you have to ask her why she didn't possess a winning shot, be it a good first serve, a FH or BH. She did't impress today. She will be lucky if she advances to SF.

It is amazing that Sam hadn't beat Maria before. This win should tell her that Maria can never beat her again. Maria is stiff and a poor mover. Hitting hard should not get it done for any player. Looks like Stosur has been peeking in Serena's play book when it comes to Maria.

Let that be a lesson to you. No one beats Sam Stosur 10 times in a row.

This was the match Sharapova had to win, even a struggle Na Li next.

She didn't, and looks destined for 0-3, no matter how hard she will try to prevent that (and she will try hard of course.)

Stosur is in her zone. woz and everyone crossing her path from now through wimbledon are going to find a real dog fight on their hands. i feel stosur would like at least another two or three meaningful trophies before she turns in.

by the way i thought she wore the most attractive dress the other night in the Turkey lineup - - she surprised me with that one. conversly, they all looked great but stosur's dress was a standout!

p.s.
i'm feeling badly for Maria now because i believe she will not win against the scrapper Li Na. Li Na's results of late not very good which means she's ready to clean that up. translation: another dogfight for maria.

my predict is li na takes it in 3.

I think part of Maria's loss was due to the injury and lack of match play. We all know how important that is, especially when you're immediately playing the top players in the first round. I don't take anything out of this loss for next season at all.

Agree Sam played well, but don't agree with whoever said that this is a sign that Sam should never lose to Maria again. Maria was way off, on a normal service return day for her Maria can break Sam 4 to 5 times a match. Sam's kick serve that troubles other so much is usually right in Maria's strikezone today, she just had a really off day. I don't think Sam did anything much differently than in her previous losses to Maria, and don't think she took a page out of Serena's playbook by any means. If this was Serena playing against Maria today, she would have really taken it to her and nice sliced and diced like Sam did to try to force the Sharapova errors.

I see some of Sharapova's "fans" have already marked the territory.
rugged1, Jerell, ... but wait ... Where is Sam E? I don’t believe she is going to miss this opportunity.

Love it. Now go lose to Li.

"...badly bungled a backhand beyond the baseline..."

**APPLAUSE**

No one can Underestimated her

The difference in the Sto/Sha match-up was how Stosur mixed up her serve. Maria is a great returner but Sam kept her guessing in Istanbul. Also, Stosur has developed an Agassi-like forehand ankle height baseline pick-up that I haven't really noticed before. She hit about 5 of them to stay in the rallies. Very impressed with that shot. And her slice was so consistent and effective - just as it was against Serena. It' s a good sign for Sto against the big flat hitters.