second

wanted to be the first to write second first...

have always disliked Sharapova's type of play... but think I'm beginning to like her ... Her sheer fighting character was beautiful to watch... Even I a diehard Justine fan found myself rooting for her at some point during this game..

When it comes to tennis, it's the willful players who never back down that really get me going. So definitely felt a positive response to this piece.

Great post Steve, thank-you!

" She was clenching her fist." last line

wow.....this is the first time Ive been left speechless by an article

Great article!
I never seemed to root for Sharapova. Then, when she was out for so long I realized I misssed her. Why?
For exactly what you described, Steve. What a fighting player she is. And, unlike Justine's behavior before retirement, no one has ever questioned Maria's sterling sportsmanship, even when fighting so intensely for the win.

I am an elite level gymnast for 15 years and NO player on the tour draws me into their matches like Maria does. Her intensity and will to win is something that I truly believe only elite level athletes can understand. It gives me a view back into the "moment" that we all lived for. And for this reason, she will always be my favorite player...

" I don’t think I’ve ever seen any player, in any round, at any tournament, will herself back into a match to the extent that Sharapova did in this one."One word: Serena.

This is one of the best articles i've ever read on this site. You captured exactly what we love about Maria. "She was clenching her fist".. "With this girl it's never over" - Henin. "Every point is like life or death for her" - Austin. I think for a player of her age, cause she's still young, to get that kind of praise is unprecedented. If you think that she is a manufactured player, I'm sure there are hundreds of others like her out there, but she's got the one natural thing that sets her apart from everybody else, together with Serena and Justine, and that's will. Will can make wonders, and I can't wait to see Maria, who has been through a lot especially high criticism from tennis fans and the press, to lift up another GS trophy. I know she will.

I'll give her points for grit but it is still hard to watch her and root for her, with that unimaginative game and all the screeching and obnoxious fist pumps!

Thank Henin for sparing us of more howling stressing sessions and thanks Petrova for freeing the public from the vulgarity in tennis outfits.

This is the thing though Steve (and another great piece).. Will she be willing to show so much heart against say, Venus or Serena in the next few weeks if she plays them, because she has always played well against Justine and had the belief to beat here.

That determination isn't really there against the other two once the "push comes to shove" and Sharapova gets tight. She can do that against Henin with nothing to lose on clay against an opponent she knows has had two of her biggest wins against.

Was an incredible 3rd set, and one that Sharapova had in her power to win. I'm surprised, Steve, that you didn't mention Sharapova had ZERO double faults in that 3rd set, and served with fierce pace, placement and kick on 1st and 2nd serve. This, considering all that has been discussed about the loss of her serve, was by far the most impressive aspect of her play today.

Fantastic picture of her btw. I really like that outfit on her - it really suggests a serious non-nonsense purposefulness that her overly designed and more colourful lacy gear at the AO and USO masked.

Unfortunate Maria couldn't pull off the upset, but it's the best she's played since she won the 2008 AO. Credit must be given to Henin for decisively stepping up her aggression when down those break points, and then for staving off Sharapova's relentless attack in the 3-4 game. Not to mention those back to back aces in serving it out.

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I'm assuming comments are moderated so when I click submit this post won't automatically appear on site, if it does, I again apologize.

And Henin was not particularly "smooth and natural" in this match Steve, especially in the latter 2nd set and beginning of the third.

Based on from, she is trying to downplay her being the favorite here, as she has said in the press conference. Sam Stosur has a serious shot tomorrow, and Serena Williams, if she is able to recapture her form and not be sick like she was yesterday, will win this title.

I admired Maria's commitment and intensity so much. Yes she lost but not to anybody here and almost win.

I agree sith Steve, i will remember Maria for a while.

"...nothing makes you feel more competent as a tennis player than constructing a point that you finish with a volley."

I couldn't agree more. Nicely said.

An interesting perspective. Every time I notice Sharapova's clenched fist, I wish she'd relax some. That kind of constant tension may bolster her fighting spirit but it usually makes one's movements and strokes a lot stiffer and tighter than usual. I'd guess that tension could be part of the reason she's making so many unforced errors.

Steve,

Even though I can never ever root for Maria,your writing makes me like her...just a wee bit.Beautiful piece!

What i do notice in Maria is-how much she has changed,post her surgery!She has become somewhat humble,more modest and respectful of her opponents! That's waht set-backs does to anybody.
Ofcourse that sheer will she possesses prevents her from displaying those traits in her.She is so arrogant,ruthless and wants to just crush her opponents[like her infamous father's hand-gesture!] just like Rafa.

I guess not many peers like Rafa,same goes with Maria too!

Gotta love Maria's determination, but she makes it hard for people to support her with the ridiculous screeching. Playing her must be like staring across the net at a 747 coming in to land. I know Justine's not above a bit of on-court coaching, but the screaming amounts to gamesmanship on every point.

Excellent article. Maria played so well. If she continues at this level she will be a serious threat at the US Open. Congratulations to Justine, she is amazing on clay. I can't wait to see her against Serena in the QF. Saludos a todos y a seguir disfrutando del mejor tenis del mundo!

I did not like Sharapova for a long while because I cannot stand those shrieks. But I like her determination and her fighter spirit. I also like the fact that she never makes excuses for her losses. I too missed her when she was not playing. Tennis needs her. She played a great match against Henin.

Lets see Justine comes out yesterday and breaks twice. It begins to rain, and gets dark. At three-four in games Justine gets broke. And for the first time in 41 sets Justine looses one. Not so good when she can't see the ball, a pretty good equalizer. Ok now lets see if she can win while being the only one having to play 5 days in a row.

Excellent analysis Steve. Really enjoyed the article. Maria has always been a fighter and I think she's finally starting to come back from a tough period in her career. Hopefully she'll show good results this summer.

Counterpoint said earlier: Thank Henin for sparing us of more howling stressing sessions and thanks Petrova for freeing the public from the vulgarity in tennis outfits.

Couldn't agree more!!!

Pov, that's the reason why she just can't relax when things go wrong. She is so intense that she gets herself nervous at times in matches and becomes a wreck.

It's a shame Maria's been out of commission (or virtually so) the last couple of years, because she was just hitting her stride when she won the Aussie in '08. It's always nice to see the press saying what I've said about Maria for so long. This girl is a warrior, end of story.

Henin has the most majestic backhand the game has ever seen.. better than Federer's in my opinion. i love Henin

she's got will, but like the great wilander said, "she's a mindless basher of the ball." all the shrieking, awkward fist pumps, one dimensional strokes, and strange skipping/shuffling of the feet between points adds up to a very annoying player to watch. reminds me of mary pierce, with even more annoying tics. and her dad, i can't even keep myself from laughing when the camera gets on that guy. what a looney tune.

hey Jerell, i think maria has a winning head to head vs
Venus, or least she used to until she got injured, and she has beaten serena, so,
YEAH I THINK sHARAPOVA WILL TAKE THE SAME FIGHTING attitude with the willys as she did with justine.She's shown it with everybody since she was a teenager.
you make it sound like she has this big winning edge vs Justine, truth is, i think justine has beaten Maria MORE times than either Venus OR Serena have, if anything she would be more nervous to face Henin than them.Sharapova has had a major physical issue for about three or more years, no wonder she's had some less than confident moments vs good players, how confident would u be if your shoulder was torn?

Yes, it was nice to see Sharapova playing with confidence, although my taste almost always favors the 'smooth and natural' over 'the willful and manufactured.' Maria and Justine played a highly entertaining match, something I am not able to say for many of the women's matches. In her disastrous opening round match in the Australian Open against Kirilenko, Maria seemed terrified of re-injuring herself and lacked all confidence. The best part of Maria's game has always been her indomitableness. A healthy Sharapova will add a lot of much needed zip to the women's tour.

Actually, Sharapova's H2H against Venus is 3-3; against Serena it's 2-5, and against Henin it's 3-6. So I'd say she doesn't have much more success against Henin than she does the Williams Sisters. Not surprising there, since she can't come close to matching their speed and agility. Sharapova's only real chance for a win comes on days when their serves are AWOL, as was the case with Henin in yesterday's second set.

Thank Henin for sparing us of more howling stressing sessions and thanks Petrova for freeing the public from the vulgarity in tennis outfits."

Very true except I'd say that Venus and Serena, especially Venus, shriek just as loudly as Sharapova - this never seems to get mentioned in the US centred media of course. And at least Maria looked great in her outfit.

Another good read....thank you from a--much older than 14--thigh slapping tennis player.:)

Great article Steve. I agree with the earlier poster about wishing Maria would relax a bit with all that tension building fist pumping. So glad she's back.

And the constant complaining about her grunting... I don't hear the opponents complaining too much. And I've seen her live a few times, and her grunting was nothing like it sounds on TV. The courts are mic'd for TV, so every sound is exaggerated. Non-issue unless the opponents complain.

"Thank Henin for sparing us of more howling stressing sessions and thanks Petrova for freeing the public from the vulgarity in tennis outfits."

hmmm, funny but which public are you talking about?
Those who matter to her and were sitting right in the stadium were going crazy for her and supporting and encouraging her. But I think you are in a different realm, and might suffer from something else.... (cannot figure out what)

Rezai can play ball, and you are going to see more of this young lady in the future. So pay attention to the game and not the garments....

*************

On a different topic; Sorry Mr Bodo, you are flogging a dead donkey & after all it's a surface your hero could not win anything on anyway, so why are you bleeding about it. Just let it go man! Rog has already got an RG and it's a wrap!!!

Ciao

I really cant understand how a thing with such a pretentious name "tennis magazine" can have such unprofessional and incompetent tennis writers. I am sorry, but this article is just a perfect example of the shallownes of an average tennis fan. How can you say that the game of a former number 1 and a three times grand slam champion is not "natural", but "manufactured", which implies that she has no talent for tennis. That is just stupid. I never understood how can you even tell what is talent. How can you even dare to say what is natural and what is not. You have thousands of tennis players around the world who train every day and repeat the same shots, but never make it on the big stage - why cant they manufacture them into tennis champions? Maria and Justine play different styles of tennis which come NATURALLY to them, and they both have strong will and determination cause they have dedicated their whole life to perfecting those shots. By the way, both are pretty efficient styles - you play to win, everything else is just sheer rationalization on why you like someone and not the other. You spend so much time writing about the package that you miss the point. Judging by the comments I guess I am the only one who expects from tennis experts to look beyond the form and not to get stuck with the common misconceptions of tennis fans.

I have always admired Sharapova's determination. It cuts through every game she is in. Whether she wins or lose, the determination is there. The belief to win is there. I love this girl.

Thanks for the article.

Sometimes the tennis intelligentsia gets so caught up in petty nonsense like grunting they overlook the essence of sport: The fight.

This kid is true fighter.

Great to have her back on tour, "screaming" and all. Feeling good about her chances in the future.

I think this match showed what was lacking in WTA for the past 2 years.

In 2007 at the AO sheer will took Serena all the way to the title! :)

I am not sure which one I like less can't stand Henin cant stand Sharapova . I wish there was a result in tennis where they could beat each other in a match . I tried to watch but it was pure agony nuff said .

I wonder if Mr. Sharapov were present, would he would be biting his fingernails!!

This article brought me in tears!!!sharapova is the only reason i started to like and watch tennis.Good luck to her.

Great article. The last line "She was clenching her fist" was so powerful. Really great. She is a fighter like none other. Serena is the only other player who I think fights like Maria.

I much prefer Maria's shrieks over Justine's allezs that come after unforced errors.

So far the return of the WTA's top tier has dominated the highlight reel matches of the year. Clijsters d. Henin twice in 3rd set tiebreaks, Serena d. Henin in AO final, Henin d. Sharapova, Petrova d. Rezai, Jankovic d. Serena, Petrova d. Serena, Azarenka d. Zvonereva, Serena d. Azarenka

Incredibly compelling matches - such a switch from last year when the men had all the drama.

A few comments:

First off, the third set DID NOT start off with Henin's angles vs. Maria's powerful shots. Henin simply didn't move Maria, and a large part of her problem attacking came from poorly executed approach shots that were predominantly down the middle of the court. Her shots were also short and when she added depth to her groundies that's when we saw the control of the court begin to shift in Justine's favor a bit, though barely.

I think another thing that impressed me about Maria -- in addition to her extreme determination, which Mr. Tignor cites -- was her quiet focus, her ability to play each point in such a mentally tough way. She never got too up or too down; you could see this on her face and in her body language. And yet on this front I think Justine matched her. And that's in large part what contributed to making this a special match.

Really loved the article... and the positive comments about Maria were so surprising and nice.

I saw Maria practice at IW when she was about 16, on one of the practice courts opposite Stadium Court. She was there with her father and a hitting partner, a Russian guy. It was hot, and she might have been injured. I'd say it was about 6 o'clock and the site was pretty empty, being the first week of the tournament. What I remember, aside from the impressive nature of her groundies, was her constant whining. She was hammering away at Dad and the hitting partner in Russian, just looking extremely uncomfortable and as if she were there against her will. Maybe that explains the clenched fists and the shrieking.

I agree with an earlier poster that the supreme competitiveness is matched by a level of physical tension which actually cramps her strokes and causes her problems at big moments. I also think she's in the game more for the money and endorsements than for the tennis. I don't think she really enjoys tennis. I mean, she likes winning, not tennis. Just as imo Tiger Woods doesn't like playing golf, just vanquishing people.

There is a real difference between how she plays and, say, Fabrice Santoro played, or John McEnroe. Some people love to play the game. Some people have no choice but to suffer for the fame and money. :) (Of course McEnroe and others enjoy those things as well.)

I don't want to change the subject much, but I have to. This is a great article and everyone who is posting is raving about it, but it's not Maria's fighting spirit that should be so welcomed. It's her HEALTH. Let's face it. When Sharapova is fit and healthy, she is one of the two best women in the world, alongside Serena. She won three grand slams in no time because she was a woman among girls and was healthy. In this tournament, she looks like she's close to being healthy. I can't say she's quite there yet. What the women's side of the draw needs is top notch players who can play more than 8 tourneys a year. Serena, constant injuries. Clijsters, constant injuries. Venus, constant injuries. Henin is back and is solid as a rock. If Maria can regain her youthful health, she can once again be a top 4 player and win many GS's. She's going to need a little bit of bodily luck and she'll be there.

BTW, Sharapova's back to her old service motion. I'm not sure if that's good or bad but there's a lot less double faults. Plus, she's hitting the ball cleaner. Movement's the same though - ugh!

Larry I have to say I completely disagree with you completely. Federer, by all accounts, was a whiny and petulant junior player, and you can hardly call him that nowadays, so it's a little silly to ascribe the same behaviours to Maria based on one anecdote from 8 years ago.

Second - just because Sharapova has the fortune of of endorsements (both earned based on her success and blessed with her appearance) doesn't mean that's all she's here for. Do you really think she would have gone through what she has the last two years if all she did it for was the money? The drop in ranking, the serious shoulder injury and months of rehab, working hard on a new service motion, embarassing loses to Oudin and Kirilenko - and yet she expresses eloquently every presser how committed she is to competing and winning.

Today only proved her character - she's one of the best competitors in the history of the game. Not that she needed to - saving 5 match points against Clijsters at the 05 USO just for one example. She needs that extra little bit of versatility, but she proved today she's still capabale of winning majors, in both attitude and ability.

Plus, I seem to be the only one who's noticed - her serve was incredible today. When it's working it's right up there with Serena's.

It's funny people are saying Maria's too tense. I see it as intense focus.

I really think she's grown up. Her father is nowhere to be seen, and she's stopped doing the hair tuck as part of her service motion thankfully. And it just seems to contribute to her being more relaxed.

Really sucks she couldn't pull off the upset.

Soderling can be as motivated as he wants but if Roger is on, then there is only one possible outcome.
tennis gold for a fed fan.

"If you recall last year’s FO final, Roger did the one thing that the Nadals, Ferrer, etc, had failed to do — he stepped forward to Robin’s shots, reducing the time Robin had to hit his shots. Nadal et al had stepped back to cope with the power, giving Robin enough time to swing. He was having an incredible week and wasn’t missing much. Roger reduced Robin’s preparation time and took his timing away. Robin started missing and you know the rest.

Incidentally, I also believe it is almost the only way for Roger to beat Rafa on clay. He has to reduce the time Rafa gets to prepare for his shots. Hurry him and take away his timing."

'If Sharapova had a one-handed backhand, she would almost surely be the first person to play an entire match with a clenched fist.'
Brilliant and funny!
Steve, you have a way with words.

Good riddance.

Well, there's one thing I'm sure of...
SHARAPOVA is talented but she hasn't got what it takes to be a TRUE champion.
She is never going to be Henin or Serena

Re. your last line - "... it took me a second to notice what she was doing as she bent to return serve. She was clenching her fist."

A female Jimmy Connors.

Once quoted as saying he never felt he lost a match. He simply ran out of time working out how to win it.
Great article - and I don't say THAT often!

this match reminds me why i love this girl. you can't question her fighting spirit, up to the last point she'll fight for it.

At least Sharapova lost trying her best. One thing that it is important. It is determination that there aren't a lot of player that they don't have that kind of thing. They can play beautiful but they don't have that kind of spark.