Although many of the top women packed their bags in the first week, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep weathered the storms of upsets at the Australian Open. Each of them has a stiff assignment ahead, however, to keep their campaigns alive.

Maria Sharapova versus Shuai Peng

After a topsy-turvy first week, things are bound to get even more exciting this week with each of the remaining players looking to complete a journey that ends in Grand Slam glory.  Maria Sharapova is no stranger to that journey.  She has walked it more than once in her career and hopes to do so again in Melbourne.  Standing in her path is Shuai Peng, and the Chinese woman may prove a road block for the No. 2 seed.

Few would argue that Peng is at a different level from the competition Sharapova has faced thus far in the event.  She is presently ranked a respectable No. 22 in singles and No. 3 in doubles.  She is quite at home on the hard courts, and she entered this year’s Australian Open with a little more Grand Slam experience after having reached her first major semifinal at last year’s US Open.  She collected some noteworthy victories on that run, and she is apt to relish the chance to do something similar here in Melbourne.

Sharapova will have no intention of falling victim to Peng, and few would peg her to do so either.  She has compiled a far more robust résumé than Peng, including five major singles titles.  Additionally, she has primarily been playing some stellar tennis at the start of 2015.  She scooped up the title in Brisbane, which only enhanced her status as one of the heavy favorites in Melbourne, and with so many seeds having already fallen, she will be even more eager to make the most of the opportunity before her.

Sharapova enters this specific match with Peng as the heavy favorite as well.  In terms of their respective games, Sharapova is definitely a more powerful ball striker.  That should allow her to wrestle away control of the rallies and free her up a little more to tee off on second-serve returns.  Furthermore, Sharapova enjoys the mental advantage.  She has vastly more experience in these big matches, and she also owns a 4-1 record against the Chinese woman.  Of course, all is not lost for Peng.  She forfeits some reach by playing with two hands off both sides, but she is a better mover than the Russian.  She also does a better job of hugging the baseline and taking the ball early, so she may be able to rush Sharapova into errors, particularly if she is able to put her exceptional net skills to work.  Finally, Peng has yet to lose a set this tournament, so she will not be lacking in confidence when she takes to the court against the former No. 1.

This is a match that has the necessary ingredients to make it a gem of a contest.  Sharapova should be able to control her own destiny, but Peng will not be a pushover.  She has the necessary tools to cause the upset, and considering this was the stage where Sharapova faltered in three of the four majors last season, it would not be a complete surprise to see Peng advance at Sharapova’s expense. 

Simona Halep versus Yanina Wickmayer

There are two things one has to do when an opportunity is presented.  The first is to recognize it.  The second is to capitalize on it.  Simona Halep surely recognizes that with Yaninia Wickmayer as her fourth-round opponent, she has an excellent look at making the quarterfinals.  What is less certain is whether or not she will capitalize on it.

Halep could hardly have done more to put herself in a better position to make the most of this opportunity.  She has catapulted up to No. 3 in the rankings on the back of a fantastic year at the majors in 2014, which began with her breakthrough quarterfinal appearance in Melbourne.  She has been scooping up titles right and left, including the tournament in Shenzhen to kick her 2015 campaign off in style.  It is difficult to foresee her forward momentum slowing down any time soon.

Contrast Halep’s upward trend with the downward spiral that Wickmayer has endured over the last half decade.  Now No. 80, she was once ranked as high as No. 12 in the world.  A back injury in 2011 wreaked havoc on her game, however, and since then she has struggled to find her best tennis.  A clear example of that could be seen in her lead up to Melbourne.  She lost her opening match in Auckland and fell in the first round of qualifying in Sydney.  Based on all of that, few, if any, would have predicted Wickmayer would find herself in the second week of the Australian Open.

Wickmayer has reached the second week, though, and it is thanks in no small part to her fighting spirit.  The Belgian has had to go the distance in every match to get here, so she is unlikely to throw in the towel against Halep if she finds herself in an early hole.  Wickmayer’s height advantage should also help her open the court up on serve and subsequently better utilize the greater firepower she enjoys off the ground.  That said, Halep has the quicker set of wheels and is exceptional at moving the ball around the court.  If she can employ those skills, not only will she seriously test Wickmayer’s ability to be consistent over the course of the long rallies, but Halep is apt to eventually get the Belgian off balance and find herself in the driver’s seat in many points.

The game plans are relatively straightforward for each of these women, but where they are mentally is what will help or hinder their cause in executing them.  As previously noted, for all that Halep’s star has risen, Wickmayer’s has fallen.  Yet despite those opposing arcs, if Wickmayer keeps it close, an upset could happen.  Halep nearly choked away the second set of her match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and though they have not played in three years, it is Wickmayer who has a 3-0 lead in her head-to-head against Halep, including a couple of 6-0 sets.  That past history could put doubts in the Romanian’s mind and have Wickmayer feeling more confident in this matchup.

In the end, however, Wickmayer is going to need to grasp confidence anywhere that she can.  Halep is playing the superior tennis, has the better game, and has more experience at this level.  If she rises to the occasion and plays within herself, she should advance.  But if she shows any chinks in the armor, do not be surprised to see Wickmayer exploit it.  After all, she is just as capable of recognizing and capitalizing on an opportunity, too.