Serena Destroys Sharapova; Bryans Win Aussie Open Doubles
Posted on January 27, 2007
Serena Carries That Weight to Aussie Open Title
Serena Williams' two-week weight-loss plan came to fruition on Saturday when the oft-criticized American silenced her doubters with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 beating of rival Maria Sharapova for the Australian Open title.
Williams came out firing winners from the starting gun, and a shell-shocked Sharapova had no time to find her rhythm, glancing helplessly at her father and coach in the stands while the American dished out nothing but winners and deadly stares, with no love lost between the opponents.
At one point it looked like Sharapova could work her way into the match after hitting Williams on the bounce with an overhead early in the second set. An ESPN close-up showed Williams glaring at the Russian afterwards and apparently muttering "****king bitch," with subsequent re-runs of Williams getting hit lacking the zoom close-up profanity. Afterwards Williams make a few unforced errors and Sharapova found her range with a couple winners, but the American then quickly put a stop to any semblance of a comeback from the Russian.
"I think she was going for me," Serena said of the overhead. "I think she was going for me and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. At that point, you gotta either take your opponent out -- to survive. At that point it was like, take me out -- it was her only hope. I definitely would have done the same thing. I didn't see the replay. But for the record, I didn't say any bad words. Someone said I said the "B" word, but I didn't. I said something else. I won't say what I said. It was no curse words, and nothing negative toward her."
After struggling for the last two years with knee and ankle injuries, it was the first appearance in a final for Williams since she won the Australian Open in 2005. The American was criticized for being overweight and seemingly ill-prepared at the beginning of the fortnight, but Saturday she appeared as a finely-tuned muscular killing machine, giving Sharapova no room to maneuver while serving her opponent off the court.
"It was an awesome win, because I had so many critics. So many people...saying negative things," Williams said. "Saying I wasn't fit, when I felt that I was really fit, and I could last three sets...I get the greatest satisfaction just holding up the Grand Slam trophy and proving everyone wrong."
She is the second player with Aussie Chris O'Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open as an unseeded entry, capturing her third career Aussie Open title and eighth Slam.
The younger Williams sister is projected to move from 81 to No. 14 on the WTA Tour Rankings. Her sister Venus pulled out of the event with a wrist injury that may require surgery.
ESPN commentator Pam Shriver called it the greatest performance she has ever seen in a Slam final. Serena called her effort "good."
"This definitely goes down as one of my good matches. I'm insatiable," Williams said. "I think I could have done better. That's just my character."
Sharapova will take over the No. 1 ranking on Monday.
"You can never underestimate her as a performer," Sharapova said. "I know what she?s capable of and she showed that today. She has showed it many, many times."
In the men's doubles final top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan successfully defended their Australian Open title, reversing a three-match losing streak against No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi 7-5, 7-5.
In the men's singles final on Sunday, top-ranked Roger Federer will face first-time Slam finalist Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From The Times' incomparable Neil Harman: "Fining Maria Sharapova the equivalent of 1,000 [pounds] for what was described as 'illegal coaching' from Yuri, her father, during the quarter final of the Australian Open is about as worthless a slap on the wrist as anything tennis has ever come up with. As the Sony Ericsson WTA tour seem so fond of on-court coaching, maybe they picked up the tab. If they really want something to hurt, to stop this pernicious practice, they need to be able to hit millionaries where it really hurts, by deducting ranking points, not taking an evening's spending money away from them. But the problem tennis has is that it actually wants more coaching, not less. Of all the nonsenses in this sport, none is more ridiculous than the much celebrated plan to allow coaches onto court during matches -- for however short a space of time -- so that they can hope to influence the outcome. Tennis is meant to be one against one, with the players thinking the game out for themselves, putting whatever strategies he/she and the coach had talked about beforehand into practice."...Jan-Michael Gambill is back in the tennis spotlight, with the ab-master poster boy receiving a wildcard at the ATP stop in Delray Beach. "I'm excited to be back on the courts playing again," said Gambill, who has been teaching tennis at an academy in Hawaii while rehabilitating his shoulder. "It has breathed new life into me to be playing again, no matter what the result this week." Also receiving wildcards were Michael Russell of Ponte Vedra Beach and 18-year-old Ryan Sweeting. Sam Querrey, previously given a wildcard, was able to enter the main draw when a player withdrew...From Reuters on the WTA following the ATP's let's-kill-doubles lead: "The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) will introduce a new doubles format at next month's Pattaya Open which aims to make matches more entertaining for spectators, organisers said. The new scoring system is already being used on the men's tour and will see a third set replaced by a super tiebreak if the score is level at one set each. The advantage point will also be removed and replaced with "sudden death", where the first pair to score a point after deuce will win the game. The WTA has also scrapped qualifying stages for doubles at all tour events."...Fernando Gonzalez lost in the first round last year at the Aussie Open...Serena Williams on her upcoming schedule: "I'm supposed to go to India next, Bangalore (Feb. 12), the Sony Ericsson there. I'm so excited. I've never been to India. I heard a lot about it. I'm really looking forward to going there. For some reason, I'm really happy to go there. I'm going to India, then Dubai, a couple tournaments after that."...From Mike Greenberg of ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning on Roger Federer: "You bring up tennis in this day and age and a lot of people roll their eyes, and they're not interested. But listen: if you're not paying attention to this guy, if you appreciate sports, you have to take a moment to appreciate this guy. It's like Tiger Woods. A lot of people are your meat-and-potatoes sports fans: I like football, I like basketball, I like baseball. If you don't appreciate golf, that's fine. You don't have to watch it, and you don't have to pay attention to it, but you have to appreciate the greatness of Tiger Woods. It's the same with tennis. You don't appreciate tennis? I'm not telling you that you have to. But, if you don't give Roger Federer his due, then you're just missing the boat. Roger Federer is the best player in any sport today, and it's not close. It's not close."...From Eurosport: "Tennis Australia has signed an exclusive four year TV and internet deal covering the 2008 to 2011 Australian Opens with Eurosport. The deal is unprecedented in Australia as, in addition to the comprehensive television coverage, it will see matches on six telecast courts (Rod Laver Arena, Vodafone Arena, Margaret Court Arena, Show Courts 2 & 3 and Court 6) streamed live over the internet via the Eurosport websites."...Maria Sharapova was the first Russian women to reach the Aussie Open final, and going in said she had watched very little of Serena Williams: "At the end of the day it's not about my opponent, it's about me. When I go into a match I know what I'm capable of. I know what tennis I can provide. I don't think about how good the player across the net is. When you start thinking like that your chances of winning are slim to none." -- Nice I-need-a-coach prototypical WTA strategy, 'Doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net, if I'm hitting winners I'm going to win, if not I'm going to lose.'...From The Age: "Australian Open organisers will ask the State Government for up to $200 million to restore Melbourne Park's reputation as the world's best tennis venue. Tournament director Craig Tiley said yesterday a large-scale renovation was needed urgently. "For us to continue to set the standard, to be a world-class tennis facility, we have to improve," he said. "Others get better. We have to keep up."...Aussie great Margaret Court after watching Serena Williams' run at the Aussie Open, speaking to the Herald Sun: "I think I was fitter than these girls. I don't mind saying that. I don't think they are as match fit. We played singles, doubles and mixed at the grand slams. Now they have two hard matches in a row and they are complaining. I can say that mainly because I did the training. (Rod) Laver and (Fred) Stolle knew what training I did and I loved it. I'd put in the weight training and running and the court training. I put in five mornings a week in the gym training before the men got in there. You'd be putting in three or four hours on the court and maybe more on some days. We'd be running the streets when the milkmen got there, 4.30am. Women's tennis has become a bit boring because they all play a bit similar game. The hope is people will want to play like Federer...such an all-round game and a single-handed backhand."...Andy Murray has pulled from Zagreb citing blisters...SI.com's Jon Wertheim on Serena Williams showing up in Melbourne overweight and walking away with the title: "Fitness is overrated. I just spoke with Oracene Williams, Serena's reluctant coach. Unprompted, she admitted that Serena needed to improve her fitness. After this display in Melbourne, I say, "Why?" If she's in sub-optimal shape, it sure didn't show here. She never tired, even playing three-setters in heat. She got to every conceivable ball. She moved fine. And she sure didn't lack power. Granted no one else is blessed with Serena's singular game and gifts, but maybe today's players need to spend less time running sprints and more time with a sports psychologist trying to channel Serena's will to win."