French Open 2009: Maria Sharapova faces tough 2nd round opponent

Returning Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova will face her toughest opponent yet since her comeback. The 102nd-ranked player will face compatriot and 11th seed Nadia Petrova in second round action at Roland Garros.

Both Sharapova and Petrova had reached the semifinal stage in this claycourt Slam thus making this match interesting to watch. It will determine if Sharapova has fully recuperated from the shoulder injury that sidelined her for that past ten months. There were signs of progress during her singles comeback last week in Warsaw where she reached the quarterfinals.

Petrova, on the other hand, had a less-than-stellar claycourt season performance with third-round finishes in Rome and Madrid. The former world number three is certainly bent to improve her head-to-head match against Sharapova where she’s trailing 1-5.

Other matches to look forward to this Wednesday (May 27): (3) Venus Williams vs. Lucie Safarova, (1) Dinara Safina vs. Vitalia Diatchenko and (9) Victoria Azarenka vs. Kristina Barrois.

In the men’s side, four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal meets Teimuraz Gabashvili, (3) Andy Murray against Potito Starace, (8) Fernando Verdasco vs. Philipp Petzchner and (14) David Ferrer vs. Nicolas Kiefer.

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