Lindsay Davenport to Face Maria Sharapova in Australian Open 2008 Second Round

Lindsay Davenport Advanced into the Second Round of Australiain Open 2008

Lindsay Davenport reached the second round of Australian Open 2008. The former world no. 1 defeated Sara Errani in the three set match of first round. The match was not that much easy for Davenport as she received a blow from her Italian opponent in the second set. With this victory, Davenport confirmed her enticing second round tie with Maria Sharapova.

sports.inquirer reported:

"It was definitely the most challenging match I've had since coming back," she said, adding that her preparation was far from ideal after being woken up at 5am by her crying baby, Jagger, who was having a nightmare.

"You know, I was so excited about coming back here and a lot of anticipation. Ironically, I probably played the worst that I've played since I've been back.

"I definitely wasn't hitting the ball very clean today. I think a lot of that was the wind. Because of that, I wasn't moving well."

Lindsay Davenport returned to action in last September after having a baby in July. It was totally unexpected that she would be able to go into a grand slam tournament within seven months of giving birth a baby. However, she has been performing well consistently since coming back to tennis court with winning 19 out of 20 matches in different competitions.

Davenport has three grand slam titles so far in her career. The 31 year old American is, however, yet to get back her prime form. So, she has to show some inspirational performances against Maria Sharapova if she wants to keep her Australian Open 2008 hopes alive.