Sharapova, Ivanovic rise above it all

MELBOURNE, Australia -- It’s tempting to say the women’s final at the Australian Open will be mostly sound and Yuri.

There was the new debate about Ana Ivanovic’s sneaker noise (too distracting?), fueled by her disgruntled semifinal victim, Daniela Hantuchova, and the age-old questions about Maria Sharapova’s grunts (too loud?) and Sharapova’s father, Yuri (too controversial?)

But those are side issues.

That, and the fact that this will be a heavily photographed final -- gentlemen, start your camera shutters -- shouldn’t overshadow the fact that the fifth-seeded Sharapova of Russia and No. 4 Ivanovic of Serbia are playing superb tennis, leading into their final here. (6:30 PST tonight).

Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last year’s one-sided final, has not dropped a set in six matches. Of those 12 sets, she won three of them, 6-0, and one was against the world’s No. 1 player, Justine Henin, in the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic’s path was tougher. She lost the first eight games to Hantuchova in the semifinals before staging a remarkable rally, in part, due to her own shot-making and Hantuchova’s loss of nerve. The 20-year-old needed tiebreaks in the second and first sets of her matches against Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams, respectively.

Sharapova and Ivanovic are 2-2, and their most recent meeting came in the quarterfinals of the WTA Tour season-ending championships in Madrid last year, which Sharapova won, 6-1, 6-2. That was a reversal of Ivanovic’s 6-2, 6-1 semifinal win in 2007 at the French Open, the only time they’ve met before in a Grand Slam event.

Though they are both 20, Sharapova holds a substantial lead in experience, two Grand Slam titles to none for Ivanovic, and a turn at No. 1 in 2005. Endorsement wars? Huge edge to Sharapova, though an equally photogenic Ivanovic could make up ground with a breakthrough win here.

This won’t be Ivanovic’s last Grand Slam final. Her powerful serve went awry, and her nerves were visible in last year’s French Open final against Henin, who won, 6-1, 6-2.

“That’s definitely something I have to look at and just try to deal with differently,” Ivanovic said.

Sharapova’s legendary focus has been even sharper than when she won the U.S. Open in 2006. In New York, there were lapses, for instance the loss of a set to Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinal and a tight two-set quarterfinal against Tatiana Golovin. In Melbourne, the hiccups have lasted a few games.

“I think that I’ve been able to execute the things that I’ve been wanting to do, you know, and I’ve been able to do it consistently, not just for three, four games and then have a major letdown, and then do it again for a game or two,” Sharapova said.

Both have dealt with moments of controversy. Sharapova has been the charming good cop to her father Yuri’s bad cop, dealing easily and with humor about questions regarding his behavior, most notably his apparent throat-slitting gesture at the end of the Henin match. That was said to be an inside joke between them.

Ivanovic answered questions about her squeaky sneakers when she returned serve after Hantuchova complained about the noise, implying it was gamesmanship. This turned the media into shoe gazers.

“But there was nothing I could do, because if I want to move my feet to return a ball this was the sound I was producing,” Ivanovic said. “Also, during the point, if I want to run with small steps around the ball, it was exactly the same thing. So, maybe she was just trying to pick on something, to get upset.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Deadlocked

Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic have played four times, with each one winning twice:

2007 WTA Tour Championships, round robin: Sharapova wins, 6-1, 6-2.

2007 French Open, semifinals: Ivanovic wins, 6-2, 6-1

2007 Tokyo, semifinals: Ivanovic wins, 6-1, 0-1, retired.

2006 Linz, quarterfinals: Sharapova wins, 7-6 (3), 7-5

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Source: Associated Press

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WOMEN’S FINAL

Who: Maria Sharapova (5) vs. Ana Ivanovic (4)

When: Tonight, 6:30 PST., ESPN2.