Maria's 2nd Round Preview

Maria has been improving with each match and each tournament since she exited Wimbledon in the 2nd round. She reached the quarters in Stanford, progressed to the LA Semi's and arrived in her first final since her comeback in Toronto. Don't be looking for Maria to repeat her early 2nd round exit here at the US Open.

Maria's back under the lights to face young American Christina McHale, and if Sharapova can build on her punishing groundstrokes and fierce returning from the first round she should have a relatively easy passage through to the 3rd round.

However McHale can hustle, and should keep the match interesting enough to provide a challenge for Maria but nothing more substantial. Maria will need to use this as an opportunity to fine- tune her serve ahead of her tustle with 4th seed Elena Dementieva, assuming Elena can overcome the challenge of Melanie Oudin.

Look for Maria to produce more schorching groundstrokes and try attacking anything short from Mchale. We should also expect Maria to be approaching the net more behind her powerful forehand and backhand.