The glamour matches at the Australian Open on Tuesday - late Monday in the U.S. - are the women’s quarterfinal matchups of No. 3 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) vs. No. 7 Serena Williams (USA) and top-ranked Justin Henin (Belgium) against No. 5 Maria Sharapova (Russia).
Jankovic and Serena have split their four previous matches, all on hard courts, but Serena won the one that counted most, in the fourth round here last year on her way to her most surprising major title.
”I know that against her I have to come up with a better level of tennis,” Jankovic said of Serena. ”I’ve beaten her a few times. I know how I have to play. But I know that I have to play really, really great tennis if I want to win, because she’s a strong girl. She’s stronger than me: twice my size.
”Sometimes I feel like she’s going to blow me off the court, but I have to stay there and play my game and go for the win.”
Serena has bounced back from a shaky opening match to improve with every round and on Sunday eliminated Czech 12th seed Nicole Vaidisova, whom she beat in the semifinal in 2007.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion said there was still room for improvement after her 6-3, 6-4 win over Vaidisova.
"I felt like I didn't have a lot of rhythm out there," Williams said. "I felt like lazy, like I wasn't moving the way I wanted to."Williams is a -400 betting favorite on WagerWeb.com, and the winner of this match plays the winner of the Henin-Sharapova match.
Sharapova, who was routed by Serena in last year’s Aussie Open final, has won just two of her eight previous matches with Henin, both on fast hard courts in Miami and New York.
And Henin is on a run of 32 consecutive victories since her semifinal loss to France's Marion Bartoli in the Wimbledon semifinals. Thus she is a -200 betting favorite for this match on WagerWeb.com.
The French and U.S. Open champion said she was relishing the prospect of facing top opposition as the second week of the season-opening Grand Slam begins.
”Now it’s like another tournament is going to start, it’s going to be another level,” she said. "I always know to beat (Sharapova) I have to be at my best. She's a real fighter. She never gives up. Very talented. She's a champion. So I know that against her I will have to give 100% all the time."
Sharapova says she is healthy after struggling with a shoulder injury last year and is coming off a 6-2, 6-0 rout of No. 11 seed Elena Dementieva. She has lost only four games per match on average.
"Against someone that's number one in the world, someone who has a lot of confidence, you've got to take your chances and take the opportunities because you won't get many," Sharapova said of Henin.
Bet on the Australian Open at WagerWeb.com
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