Maria Sharapova in Australian Open Tennis 2008

Maria Sharapova is one of the strongest contenders of Australian Open tennis 2008. The current world no. 5 was not successful in 2007 with no grand slam title to her credit. Though she could make it to the final of Australian Open 2007, she lost to the eventual champion Serena Williams in the final. The Russian will definitely try her best to go further this time around winning the first Australian Open title in her career. The 20- year-old Russian tennis star has recently expressed that she is one of the toughest contenders of Australian Open.

Xinhua net reported:

"I am still 20 years old, I have said it many times, I don't think this is the peak of my career. I believe that there are many more years to go, and I'm going to learn from all those experiences within those years." said Sharapova.

"No matter where my ranking is, I'm one of the toughest competitors out there. I never leave the court without giving a hundred percent and that's why I think I gain a lot of respect from my fans." added the world number five and a favorite for the Jan. 14-27 Australian Open.

It shows the determination she holds on ahead of the first grand slam tournament of the year. Maria Sharapova has two grand slam singles titles to her credit so far in her short career. The first one came in 2004 Wimbledon and the later being in 2006 U.S. Open. However, the former world no. 1 has a tough draw in Australian Open 2008, with the possibility to face Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Elena Dementieva in the fourth round. What is more, her probable quarter final opponent could be world no. 1 Justine Henin and a rematch of last year’s final against Serena Williams could be staged in the semi final of Australian Open tennis 2008.

There are many who think that Maria Sharapova always gets easy draws and that is why, the task becomes easy for her. There is no chance to claim such this time. If Maria Sharapova wants to win the title of Australian Open 2008 then she needs to beat some of the best women tennis players of present day. So, this is the best opportunity for Maria Sharapova to stop her critics.