Stats Corner: First-Time Major Finalists

Victoria Azarenka will be seeking to reverse a trend when she plays in her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.

Published January 27, 2012 08:01

Stats Corner: First-Time Major Finalists
Victoria Azarenka

MELBOURNE, Australia - When it comes to Grand Slam finals experience, Maria Sharapova will have the advantage when she takes on Victoria Azarenka for the Australian Open title on Saturday. The Russian has been in five of them, winning three.

Meanwhile, Azarenka will be competing in her first. She will have her work cut out with her in dealing with that added pressure based on recent history, as just two of the last 10 players competing in their first major final were victorious - and one of those was playing a fellow first-time finalist. However, the last first-time major finalist, Petra Kvitova, showed no sign of nerves in her triumph over - coincidentally enough - Sharapova at Wimbledon last year.

"I worked hard to be in this situation, so why stress about it? I'm just going to go out there and try to do my best," said Azarenka when asked about playing in her first Slam final.

Here is a rundown of results for recent first-time Grand Slam finalists:

Event First-Time Finalist Result
'07 French Open Ana Ivanovic l. Henin
'07 Wimbledon Marion Bartoli l. V.Williams
'08 French Open Dinara Safina l. Ivanovic
'08 US Open Jelena Jankovic l. S.Williams
'09 US Open Caroline Wozniacki l. Clijsters
'10 French Open Francesca Schiavone d. Stosur
'10 French Open Samantha Stosur l. Schiavone
'10 Wimbledon Vera Zvonareva l. S.Williams
'11 Australian Open Li Na l. Clijsters
'11 Wimbledon Petra Kvitova d. Sharapova

Notes: The record for all Open Era first-time Slam finalists is 24-44 (35.3%) ... The longest losing streak for first-time major finalists was nine in the early '70s.

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