Lindsay Davenport<\/a> would await Sharapova in round two, in a battle of Grand Slam champions.<\/p>\nAppearing as a guest on the latest episode of \u2018Served with Andy Roddick\u2019, Sharapova recalled how she reacted to the draw.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the draw came out and I saw Lindsay Davenport in the second round of that draw, I told Max [Eisenbud \u2013 agent], I am not doing any sponsor visits,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not even care who I was playing in the first round, my focus and my energy was preparing for Lindsay Davenport because I think Lindsay was struggling with a few injuries and was coming back and unseeded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when I saw her in that section of the draw in Australia, one of her better courts, I was like, that is what I need to be focused on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember I was staying at the Crown at the time in Melbourne, and once the draw came out, I went straight to the gym and I got on the bike. There was this \u2018why am I drawing Lindsay Davenport in the second round?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Lindsay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-79011188-1024x725.jpg\")
Photo by Robert Prezioso\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sharapova then explained how she prepared for her match with Davenport at the 2008 Australian Open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to get that energy out. That was my first intention, and then for the next three or four days I just focused on serving and returning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was never shy of looking at the draw, but it\u2019s really interesting how your mind shapes the path of what you take.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way that I got myself ready for that match mentally and physically, and you see it with how I played and how zoned in I was, and my returns and serves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all because once I saw her name, I was like, this is going to determine who is going to win that match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharapova was then asked if she believed she would have produced the level she showed in Melbourne if she hadn\u2019t drawn Davenport.<\/p>\n
![\"Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-79011640-1024x726.jpg\")
Photo by Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to draw that level unless it was her, because it doesn\u2019t matter if you are playing her in the second round or the quarters or the finals, you know what you are going to get,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPace, depth, and speed, and if you break her, bingo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharapova\u2019s preparation paid off, as she dominated Davenport 6-1, 6-3, booking her place in round three.<\/p>\n
Did Maria Sharapova win the 2008 Australian Open?<\/p>\n
Fuelled with confidence after her convincing win over Davenport, Sharapova stepped into another gear, qualifying for her second consecutive Australian Open final without dropping a set.<\/p>\n
RoundOpponentResultScoreSFJelena JankovicWin6-3, 6-1QFJustine HeninWin6-4, 6-04RElena DementievaWin6-2, 6-03RElena VesninaWin6-3, 6-02RLindsay DavenportWin6-1, 6-31RJelena Kostanic TosicWin6-4, 6-3Maria Sharapova at the 2008 Australian Open<\/p>\n
Standing between Sharapova and the Australian Open title was Serbia\u2019s Ana Ivanovic, the number four seed.<\/p>\n
In straight sets, Sharapova beat Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3, to win her third Grand Slam title at the age of 20.<\/p>\n
Before retiring from tennis in 2020, Sharapova added two more majors to her collection, winning the French Open in 2012 and 2014.<\/p>\n
Finishing up her career as a five-time Grand Slam champion, Sharapova carved out a legacy that won\u2019t soon be forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maria Sharapova enjoyed a legendary tennis career, often producing her best tennis at the four Grand Slam tournaments.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[7641,49,48,41742,16498,82,593,4306],"class_list":{"0":"post-65408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-australian-open","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-lindsay-davenport","12":"tag-maria-sharapova","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tennis","15":"tag-wta"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-71838079-1024x697.jpg\")
Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n