Photos:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7423359.stm (first round)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7425610.stm (second round Thursday)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7427415.stm (second round Friday)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7429056.stm (third round)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7431055.stm (fourth round)
Having started the year ranked #5, Maria has swiftly risen to #1 with a win/loss record of 27:2 (including Fed Cup), and could complete a career Grand Slam at the age of 21 by winning here!
Admittedly she is only #1 now because Justine Henin retired and asked to be taken off the rankings, but Maria deserves to be #1 because she's the best player in the world this year, winning her third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, winning Doha, and winning her first-ever claycourt-title at Amelia Island (albeit on green clay, which is faster than the red clay here).
Maria's only losses this year have been to Svetlana Kuznetsova at Indian Wells, and to Serena Williams at Charleston. Maria could meet Kuznetsova in the semi-finals here, but the Williams-sisters are safely tucked away in the bottom half of the draw, along with second and third seeds Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.
I'm particularly glad to avoid Serena, as her post-Australian-Open record has been almost as impressive as Maria's, with a 23:2 record for the year so far, and she has beaten Maria the last four times they played. Serena is also the only former French Open champion (2002) in the draw, so despite her walkover out of Rome with a back-injury, I think she's the player to beat here.
Maria had her own walkover out of Rome with a left-calf injury, but that's not surprising after she played three marathons in a row to get to the semi-finals, so I hope it was a very short-term injury. Even if she has more three-set marathons here, she's mentally strong enough to win them, and she'll have a day off to recover between each match (except between her third round on Saturday and the fourth round on Sunday).
The draw has not been kind to Maria IMO. Although there's not much danger for her in the first three rounds - provided she is fully fit - she could well have to play Dinara Safina in the fourth round, who beat her at the same stage here in 2006, and also beat Henin and Serena Williams en route to the Berlin-title.
In Henin's Absence, Who Is The French Open Favourite?
By Steve Legrice (Tennis Week)
Thursday 15th May
>>>
The tennis-season has suddenly been made a whole lot more intriguing � thanks to Justine Henin's shock-decision to retire. But the big question is: Whom does her absence help the most?
British bookies are clearly backing Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the French Open favourites in the absence of the four-time French Open champion.
Serena, the 2002 Roland Garros champion, won her first clay-court title in six years, beating both Sharapova and Vera Zvonar�va to claim the Tier I Charleston title. Williams, who has won 19 of her last 20 matches, is a 2:1 favourite to win the French Open according to British bookmaker William Hill.
The second-ranked Sharapova, who will regain the top spot in the WTA Tour rankings on Monday, is the second-favourite to win the only Major title that has eluded her. The reigning Australian Open champ is a 5:1 shot in Paris.
Ivanovic is certainly hot, and she is talking the talk. She recently told Tennis Week that there was no one on the Tour who frightens her.
"I look at everyone as a seasoned opponent," Ivanovic said. "You just want to go out there, give it your all, and beat them as bad as you possibly can."
And the Serb is certainly hungry for a Grand Slam. After starting her year by reaching the final of the Australian Open, she certainly thinks it is within her grasp. At some point, though, she is likely to have to face Sharapova in Paris, who recently knocked her out of the number-two spot in the rankings. If they do, is there any reason to think it would end differently to their meeting in Melbourne, which Sharapova totally dominated?
But think back to the 2007 French Open semi-final and remember that Ivanovic picked Sharapova apart on the slower surface, scoring a 6-2 6-1 victory. Sharapova-supporters point to the fact the Russian glamour-girl was struggling with a strained serving-shoulder as a contributing factor in that lopsided loss.
Ivanovic certainly didn't look like much of a threat in Rome this week, where she lost to 64th-ranked qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 5-7 6-2 on Wednesday.
Sharapova clearly has motivation. She has never made it past the semi-final at Roland Garros, and a second Slam - which could theoretically set her up for a sweep this season - would be sweet. And Roland Garros is the only title missing from her trophy-case.
Serena may have other ideas. The American hasn't won the French Open since 2002, and now that Henin is out, she is the only player on the Tour who has won there. She has also proved an almost impossible challenge for Sharapova in recent years, and defeated the Russian most recently on clay in Charleston to raise her career-record to 5:2 against the three-time Grand Slam champion. Williams has not lost to Sharapova since the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2004.
A lot now will hang on the draw next week. All three favourites could have some challenging hurdles to reach the semi-finals.
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World No.1 allays French fears [Teletext 495->496] (Saturday 17th May)
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Sharapova OK for French [Teletext 496]
World No.1 Maria Sharapova is confident she will be fit for the French Open, despite withdrawing from her Italian Open semi-final with Jelena Jankovic.
Sharapova pulled out with a calf-strain, but believes she will have recovered for Roland Garros next Sunday.
Asked whether her participation in Paris was in danger, Sharapova said: "I don't think so. They think I need maybe two or three days off."
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Surface Advantage: The hottest clay-players
By Robert Waltz (Tennis.com), Tuesday 20th May
>>>
Some players get a boost on the slow, high-bouncing clay courts, while others suffer. Standings for a hypothetical "French Open Series" help us identify the best performers on European clay over the past year.
THE WOMEN
Top Four
1. Jelena Jankovic <snip>
2. Maria Sharapova � Until this year, she had never won a clay-title. But she took Amelia Island on green clay in April, and then made the Rome semi-final. She also unexpectedly made the Roland Garros semi-final last year. Clearly she is playing better on clay than ever before.
3. Serena Williams <snip>
4. Ana Ivanovic <snip>
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French Open - Countdown: Women to watch
Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport (Thursday 22nd May)
>>>
With Justine Henin having relinquished her iron grip on the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, Eurosport Yahoo! looks at who could replace the retired Belgian as the French Open champion.
The new favourite: Ana Ivanovic
<snip>
Back on top: Maria Sharapova
After struggling with a back-injury throughout a 2007 season that was dominated by Henin, the scintillating Siberian returned to form at the end of last year with a brilliant performance that nearly saw her past the world number-one in the WTA Championships. In Melbourne, Sharapova illustrated why 2008 is likely going to be the year of Maria as she crushed Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Ivanovic in successive matches to lift the Australian Open trophy. With Henin now out of the picture, look for Sharapova to improve on last year's best-ever Roland Garros appearance by reaching her fifth career Grand Slam final.
The ex-champion: Serena Williams
<snip>
The rock: Jelena Jankovic
<snip>
The underachiever: Elena Dementieva
<snip>
The sleeper: Dinara Safina
<snip>
The spoiler: Vera Zvonar�va
<snip>
The future of the French: Aliz� Cornet
<snip>
The X-Factor: Svetlana Kuznetsova
<snip>
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Nick Bollettieri's 2008 French Open Preview - Women
http://nickstennispicks.com/
Thursday 22nd May
>>>
Nick's breakdown of the top women in the field and others to watch out for...
Top 10 Seeds
Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 130 lbs.
D.O.B: 04/19/1987
Turned Pro: April 2001
Current Ranking: 1
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
2008 Titles: Australian Open, Doha, Amelia Island
2007 French Open: Semi-finals
Nick's Thoughts:
Clay has never been Sharapova's best surface, but she seems to find a way to grind through to the later rounds. Her movement is a major weakness on the dirt because her power is somewhat diminished, making it easier to move her around, but her competitive fire is the equaliser, and you never want to count this girl out.
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Henin-exit opens door for Sharapova, Serbs (Reuters, Thursday 22nd May)
By Miles Evans (editing by Rex Gowar)
>>>
Justine Henin's decision to call it quits at 25 earlier this month has not so much left a hole at the top of the French Open draw as a gaping chasm, which new world number-one Maria Sharapova will be aching to fill.
Henin has won four of the last five Grand Slams at Roland Garros, and her shock-retirement has left the field as open as if Roger Federer hung up his strings a fortnight before Wimbledon.
For, unless Serena Williams produces the kind of cavalier-run that saw her emerge from the depths of the draw at the Australian Open last year, there will be a new champion's name inscribed on the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on 7th June.
With Henin gone, Williams - victor over sister Venus in the 2002 final - is the only former champion in the 128-strong field, and form and history point elsewhere for the successor to the diminutive Belgian's crown.
The closest Sharapova, 21, has come to winning on the red dust in Paris was last year, but a crushing 6-2 6-1 loss to Ana Ivanovic in the semis suggested she may never win a Slam away from the faster courts of Flushing Meadow and Wimbledon.
Sharapova exacted sweet revenge when she beat Ivanovic in the Australian Open final in January, and victory [sic] in the season-ending Tour Championships in Madrid two months earlier suggested a steelier resolve than previously shown.
Despite a niggling calf-injury, she looks well set to break her Paris-duck.
"Last year, I basically played without a shoulder and I got to the semi-final," Sharapova said after her withdrawal from the Italian Open earlier this month.
"At a Grand Slam stage, you are going to do whatever it takes," said Sharapova, who has added titles at Doha and Amelia Island since her Melbourne Park triumph.
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French Open stage is set for Maria Sharapova
By Mark Hodgkinson for The Daily Telegraph (Thursday 22nd May)
>>>
Parisians like a bit of chic with their forehands and backhands, and some casual tennis-fans probably think that the sparkly, spangly Maria Sharapova will go on court at the French Open wearing a pair of six-inch stiletto-heels. Plus, Sharapova famously compared her movement on the Roland Garros clay-courts last season to that of a "cow on ice".
But for all the talk of stilettos and skittering hooves, she goes into the tournament - starting on Sunday - wearing standard tennis-shoes and with the possibility of completing a career Grand Slam, all at the fine old age of 21. That would allow her to join Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navr�tilov�, She Who Must Not Be Named and Serena Williams in the �lite club of women to have won all four Majors.
To think that when Sharapova first emerged on the scene, a few commentators described her as "the new Anna Kournikova" - another perky, pony-tailed Russian blonde starting out on an empty tease of a tennis-career.
Well, Kournikova did not win much apart from endorsement-contracts and mid-match offers of marriage from the stands. Sharapova was just 17 when she lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon in 2004, and she has since added the 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open titles. Justine Henin's shock retirement last week did not just hand the world No.1 ranking to Sharapova; it also significantly increased the chances of the Russian winning in Paris for the first time. Henin had won the French Open four times in the past five years. In the American tennis-vernacular, Roland Garros was "Justine's house".
So Sharapova could be about to make some history on the terre battue of south-west Paris. Watch out, Carla Bruni, for here comes the wannabe First Lady of Paris. "I think that even if Justine was in the draw, a lot of players would still have had a shot at the title," Sharapova has observed. "This year has been different, results-wise, from last year. I think Justine was the one dominating throughout most of last year, especially in the latter stages. This year, it's been a couple of players, including myself. It's a Grand Slam stage. I think everybody has a chance. You know, I probably sound like a broken record-player, but it all comes down to whoever takes chances. Hopefully that will be me."
Sharapova's game is better suited to slicker, quicker grass and hard courts, and trying to win the French Open "is going to be one of the biggest challenges of my career". But last year, she had her best result at Roland Garros, when she reached the semi-finals, and that was despite suffering a worse shoulder-problem than the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Plus, she had previously reached the quarter-finals on two occasions: in 2004 and 2005. Sharapova is no clay-smeared rookie.
Last month, Sharapova lifted the first clay-court title of her career when she won at Amelia Island in Florida. She reached the semi-finals in Rome last week, but took the precaution of pulling out of the match because of a calf-strain. Still, officials at the women's tour fully expect Sharapova to take her position at the top of the draw.
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Top-Less: French Open women's preview
By Kamakshi Tandon (Tennis.com, Thursday 22nd May)
>>>
This space was originally reserved for Justine Henin.
She might have been having a difficult year, but it didn't matter. She might have struggling with injuries and having trouble finding her usual intensity, that didn't matter either. Even being upset by Dinara Safina in the third round of Berlin didn't matter.
She was the world No.1, a four-time French Open champion, and whatever happened, she was going to be the favourite going into this year's event.
Instead, her shock-retirement leaves the women's field (rather like this preview) suddenly missing its central focus, riding into Paris like a kind of headless horseman.
FOUR UNTO THE BREACH
Who will fill the gap? No single player has dominated this season, and the field would have been considered wide-open even with Henin in the field. Now, with the Belgian missing, four women share top billing: Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.
They have split the year's big events between them: Sharapova won the Australian Open and Doha, Ivanovic won Indian Wells, Serena won Miami and Charleston, and Jankovic took Rome - but it's not results alone that make them co-favourites.
Sharapova and Williams are the game's steeliest competitors. While neither is fond of playing on clay, they have grimly imposed their brand of powerball at Roland Garros with surprising success.
Sharapova gave one of the most creditable performances of her career last year when she reached the semi-finals despite being short on practice and nursing a shoulder-injury. She had been half-expected to skip the event to prepare for Wimbledon, but turned up, saying, "I have a lot of respect for this tournament... the French is probably going to be the most challenging event that I'm going to play in my career. And I play tennis because I love challenges."
She has played sparingly this year to avoid the kind of injury-quagmire she experienced last season, and withdrew from her semi-final match in Rome with a calf-strain. But at a Grand Slam, she's willing to pull out all the stops.
"Last year, I basically played without a shoulder and I got to the semi-finals," she said. "So in a Grand Slam stage, you're going to do whatever it takes. If it's taking a few extra painkillers or, I don't know, what other options there are, then definitely."
Williams will be the only former champion in the field this year, which itself counts for something. She's also won 18 of her last 19 matches, a sure sign that her game is in one of its dangerously good phases. And it's fairly certain that her back-problem in Rome will clear up by the time she steps on the court in Paris. But unfortunately for her and her opponents, Williams' No.5 seeding means she could meet one of the top four as early as the quarter-finals.
Neither of the two is comfortable enough on the dirt to cruise through the tournament, but their ability to get going when the going is tough can never be discounted. Williams would have the edge if the two were to meet on court. Against the field as a whole, Sharapova is more vulnerable to a hot opponent, but less prone to the kind of off-days Williams can sometimes experience.
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Murray to face wild card in Paris [CEEFAX 491] (Friday 23rd May)
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Maria Sharapova, the top women's seed in the absence of Justine Henin, opens her campaign against Evgeniya Rodina.
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Sharapova in all-Russian tie [Teletext 495->497] (Friday 23rd May)
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All-Russian tie for Maria [Teletext 497]
Newly-installed world No.1 Maria Sharapova will begin her French Open challenge with a first-round tie against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
Sharapova, who was elevated to top spot after Belgian Justine Henin's retirement, is bidding to become the 10th woman to win all four Grand Slams.
Maria: Event wide open [Teletext 497]
World No.1 Maria Sharapova believes the women's draw at Roland Garros has been thrown wide open following Justine Henin's recent decision to retire.
The Russian was installed as top seed after Henin opted to call it a day.
Sharapova said: "There are a lot of girls that have the opportunity to be No.1 in the world by the end of the year, and a lot of them are good players on clay."
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Players to watch [Teletext 498] (Friday 23rd May)
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Maria Sharapova: The new world No.1 has shown signs of mastering clay with her first title on the surface this year. The hard-hitting Russian won her third Grand Slam in January, and is ready to capitalise on Justine Henin's absence.
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Sharapova takes centre-stage at French Open (PA SportsTicker, Friday 23rd May)
>>>
With the sudden retirement of Justine Henin last week, the focus at the the French Open has turned to Maria Sharapova.
The draw for the claycourt Major, which begins on Sunday, was released on Friday, and the top-seeded Sharapova can expect to run into several of her Russian compatriots if she plans on reaching her first final here.
Henin is the three-time defending champion of this second Grand Slam of the year, but she abruptly retired from the game last week and Sharapova became the new world No.1 as a result.
Sharapova, who opens with fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, comes in as the reigning Australian Open champion and will complete the career Grand Slam if she wins at Roland Garros.
Other talented Russians competing in the same quarter of the draw with Sharapova are No.7 Elena Dementieva, 11th-seeded Vera Zvonar�va, No.13 Dinara Safina and No.21 Maria Kirilenko.
Russia also is well-represented in the bottom half of that half of the draw, as Sharapova faces a potential semi-final clash with either No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova or sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze.
Sharapova has been excellent this season with a 27:2 record and three titles, including her win in Melbourne.
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Russians in Sharapova's path (AFP/Eurosport, Friday 23rd May)
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Women's top seed Maria Sharapova, bidding to win a first French Open and complete a career Grand Slam, begins her campaign against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina: the world number 104.
Sharapova, a semi-finalist in 2007 and the new world number-one, could face compatriot and 2004 runer-up Elena Demetieva in the quarter-finals, with fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova a potential semi-final opponent.
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Top Seeds Avoid Tough Early-Round Matches in 2008 French Open Draw
Article by Aaress Lawless (Friday 23rd May 2008)
http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/05/23/top-seeds-avoid-tough-early-round-matches-in-2008-french-open-draw/
>>>
The top players at the 2008 French Open have all avoided pulling tough opening-round opponents in the women's singles main draw.
In the field led by new world No.1 Maria Sharapova, the top five seeds are Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Serena Williams.
Projected Paths of Top Seven Seeds
MARIA SHARAPOVA [1] (First Round: Evgeniya Rodina)
The toughest leg of Maria Sharapova's pursuit of the career Grand Slam looked a bit easier when the main draw was selected this morning in France. Sharapova, who once described her game on clay akin to a "cow on ice", has a very good chance to go deep into the draw of the one Slam that has eluded her.
She could face a tough match in the fourth round against recent Berlin-champion Dinara Safina, but with Ivanovic, Jankovic, and both Williams-sisters on the other side of the draw, the world No.1 could not have received a kinder draw.
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Wide-Open Field Heads to Season's Second Major (Friday 23rd May)
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/3/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2283
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A few weeks ago, there were few who would bet against Justine Henin winning her fourth straight - and fifth overall - Roland Garros title. But on Wednesday 14th May, the Belgian became the first player in WTA Tour history to retire ranked No.1 in the world; now, on the eve of the year's second Grand Slam tournament, the major opening that provided could not be any more obvious.
The world's top four - ranked No.2 through No.5 prior to Henin's departure - all have a shot at emerging from the upcoming fortnight with the No.1 ranking. And with a combined record of 5:31 against the tenacious Belgian, this could be all of their best chances to win on the terre battue of Roland Garros. Maria Sharapova, who ascended to No.1 in Henin's place and was responsible for over half of the quartet's wins over her (she was 3:6 against her), recorded her best performance here a year ago, reaching the semi-finals. She is also a two-time quarter-finalist: in 2004 and 2005. As the only one of the top four seeds to have won multiple Slams (doing it three times), she is also used to this stage.
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Serena Williams likes her chances in France (AP, Friday 23rd May)
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I FEEL PRETTY:@ Whatever tennis-titles Maria Sharapova wins, she always will be seen as a fashion-star.
This month, the WTA Tour wanted her to participate in a four-hour promotional photoshoot before a tournament in Rome. Sharapova initially opposed the photoshoot, but eventually compromised after, she said, the WTA threatened her with a $300,000 fine.
"It was not just waking up and going on set and doing a four-hour shoot," Sharapova said on Friday at Roland Garros. "You have to do wardrobe and makeup and hair, which is another two hours."
Her links to the entertainment-world came up when a reporter told Sharapova she is singer Mariah Carey's favourite tennis-player � and that Carey wants to go to the US Open this year.
"Oh, really? Well, I'll get her a ticket, no problem. Maybe not box-access, but she'll get a good ticket," Sharapova said playfully. "She'll get a front-row seat in exchange for a good ticket at her concert."
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Parsing Paris (Tennis.com, Friday 23rd May)
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The Women
First Quarter
Justine Henin's retirement has promoted Maria Sharapova to the No.1 ranking and the top of the draw at Roland Garros. She's been injured (of course), and by her own admission, she's no clay-courter. She also may have to face Dinara Safina, who beat her here a couple years ago and just won a Tier I event in Berlin. Still, I think a rested Sharapova, who, like most of the top women, must be thinking that this is a golden Slam-opportunity, will be ready for that challenge, and for a possible follow-up from Elena Dementieva in the quarters.
Semi-finalist: Maria Sharapova
Semi-finals: Kuznetsova d. Sharapova; S.Williams d. Jankovic
Final: S.Williams d. Kuznetsova
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Sharapova wants final Major title [CEEFAX 490->493] (Saturday 24th May)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova is excited at the prospect of challenging for the one Major title that still eludes her at the French Open.
"To be honest, it's quite amazing to be 21 years old and have somebody tell you that it's the only Grand Slam that you haven't won," she said.
"I've always said it: it's the toughest one - it's always going to be in my career. But that's why I'm here.
"I've said it every single year. I love the challenges."
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Sharapova not under pressure [Teletext 495->498] (Saturday 24th May) Maria Sharapova maintains she is not obsessed with winning the Grand Slam of Major titles at the French Open. If the Russian claims the crown at Roland Garros, she would join a select band to have won all four Majors, but she insists it is not her sole focus. The 21-year-old said: "It would be an incredible addition to my portfolio, but if this is not the year, my career's not going to end."
>>>
Maria not feeling heat [Teletext 498]
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Sharapova: I've nothing to prove (Saturday 24th May)
By Steve Douglas: PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
>>>
Maria Sharapova maintains she is not obsessed with completing the Grand Slam of major titles at this year's French Open.
With Justine Henin - the champion in Paris the previous three years - now retired and out of the picture, Sharapova has a great chance to finally add the Roland Garros crown to her collection.
If she does, the 21-year-old would join a select band to have won all four Majors, but the new world No.1 insists it is not the be-all and end-all.
"It would be an incredible addition to my portfolio, but if this is not the year, my career's not going to end," said the Russian, who takes on compatriot Evgeniya Rodina in the first round.
"I've got many more years ahead of me to try to achieve that, and to try to win more Grand Slam titles as well. I've never, even as a junior-player, felt I had to go out on court and prove anything to anyone. I'm at a spot in my career where I know the player that I am, and I know what I'm capable of producing on the court."
The absence of four-time winner Henin has left a big void at the heart of the women's draw.
Sharapova has benefited from the Belgian's decision last week to retire from tennis to make a "new start" in life, as she is back at the top of the world-rankings and has a genuine chance of lifting the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup for the first time.
She is sorry to see her rival step away, but fully understands the reasons behind Henin's decision.
"Am I surprised? Maybe a little bit," said Sharapova, who has never made the final at the French Open. "Considering she is ending her career at number one, it's more of a surprise, but it can also be good to end your career at the top.
"She's 25 and I think, especially for a woman, there's much more to life than just sport - than just tennis. If I were 25 and I'd achieved the things she's achieved in her career, I'd feel there's a lot more in life to explore."
Sharapova admitted that tennis can become a bit overwhelming when you have reached the level that she and Henin have.
"From the age you start, everything you do that isn't tennis, you think about the consequences it will have on your tennis," she said. "That's one of the things everybody is looking forward to: not having to think, 'How is this going to hurt me when I go back on the practice-court?'
"So I don't think she has anything to regret."
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French Open - Fantasy Tennis: Serena surprise
Jeremy Stahl (Eurosport), Saturday 24th May
>>>
With Justine Henin gone, the most open Roland Garros draw in recent memory, and only one former champion competing in the tournament, this year's French Open calls for some creative fantasy-tennis picks.
Each week, "In or Out" offers tips on players who could be worth picking with your two weekly transfers, hopefully giving you an edge over your rivals.
A Group
In: Serena Williams
The sudden retirement of Justine Henin has thrown this year's Roland Garros draw into complete disarray. Without the Belgian's assured dominance of one half of the draw, Paris is open to a number of surprise-contenders. Enter the 2002 champion. The fifth-seeded Williams is certainly considered one of the favourites, but she has been overshadowed by Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic. Serbia's Ivanovic has struggled recently, and Sharapova has an incredibly dangerous draw, so we're going to have to throw our support behind the American, who has been on top form since her failed title-defence attempt in Melbourne.
Out: Maria Sharapova
The top-seeded Australian Open champion and world number-one is certainly one of the favourites to win the title. But her draw has thrown up a number of roadblocks: most notably and most dangerously in the form of a likely fourth-round match against in-form compatriot Dinara Safina. Sharapova, a semi-finalist last year in her best-ever showing in Paris, has struggled in recent years against Safina, with two losses in their last three meetings, including one critically in the fourth round of Roland Garros two years ago. Safina is an excellent bet to replicate that stunt this time around.
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Serena Leads Wide-Open Women's Draw
By Matthew Cronin (www.rolandgarros.com)
Saturday 24th May
>>>
Amongst the top seeds, only Serena Williams has won a French title before: back in 2002, when she rolled over her sister Venus for the crown.
Newly-minted number one Maria Sharapova's best result was a semi-final last year, where Serbian Ana Ivanovic routed her. Then Ivanovic, this year's number-two seed, was subsequently destroyed by Henin.
The top half of the draw is stacked with Russians and led by Sharapova, who won her first green-claycourt crown at Amelia Island in April. The ultimate powerballer has been fighting hard during the claycourt-season, playing one marathon-match after another. While sliding orange-hued dirt is not her favourite activity, the three-time Grand Slam champion is one of the most accomplished fighters on tour, and lives for on-court death-struggles.
Somewhat remarkably, Sharapova may not see a non-Russian seed past the third round. In the fourth round, she could face her friend - the fast and ambitious Maria Kirilenko - or the woman who came back from a 1:5 deficit in the third set at 2006 Roland Garros against her: Dinara Safina. With her stunning title-run in Berlin, where she upset Henin, Serena and Elena Dementieva en route to her first Tier I title, Safina might be given the edge in that match.
Whoever comes out of that gruelling quadrant could face 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva, whose form has been rising all year, and has always believed that she has the goods to win a Grand Slam title.
The bottom quarter of the top half is the weakest portion of the draw, and is led by two other Russians: former finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova - a true clay-court lover - and sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze, whom Sharapova bested last year. The intelligent Chakvetadze has been reeling since her December mugging in Moscow, but has picked up the pace during the past few weeks. There are a couple of talented yet unproven youngsters in this section, such as Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Hungarian �gnes Sz�vay, while Russian veteran Nadia Petrova and Italian warhorse Francesca Schiavone also have hopes.
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Sharapova seeks career Grand Slam in Paris (PA SportsTicker, Saturday 24th May)
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With the sudden retirement of Justine Henin, the focus at the the French Open has turned to Maria Sharapova.
Henin is the three-time defending champion of this claycourt Grand Slam, but she abruptly retired from the game on 14th May, and Sharapova became the new world No.1 as a result.
Sharapova now finds herself centre-stage in Roland Garros, where she can complete the career Grand Slam with a victory. She'll begin the quest against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
The 21-year-old Sharapova, who claimed her first Australian Open title earlier this year, also is attempting to keep alive her hopes of a calendar-year Grand Slam: a feat last achieved by She Who Must Not Be Named in 1988.
Sharapova has been one of the best players on the WTA Tour this season at 27:2 with three titles, but clay has never been her favourite surface. In fact, the 19-time champion had never won a claycourt-event until her triumph at Amelia Island earlier this year.
She also could be challenged by several other talented Russians in her quarter of the draw: No.7 Elena Dementieva, 11th-seeded Vera Zvonar�va, No.13 Dinara Safina and No.21 Maria Kirilenko.
Sharapova had her best showing here last season, when she reached the semi-finals before falling to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanovic: the second seed this year.
Ivanovic, the first Serbian player - male or female - to reach a Grand Slam singles-final, is one of three players who could overtake Sharapova as the world No.1 with a win in Paris.
Third-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic and No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia also are in striking distance of Sharapova.
The top four seeds have to be glad Henin is out of the mix as the talented Belgian was a combined 35:5 against them.
Sharapova won three of her nine career-meetings with Henin, while Kuznetsova was just 2:16 against her. Ivanovic (0:4) and Jankovic (0:9) never were able to solve the 41-time champion.
Fifth-seeded Serena Williams is one of few who does have a winning record against Henin (7:6) and, while she can't overtake Sharapova with a win here, the American has to be considered a favourite.
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"Old lady" Serena out to beat the kids at French Open
by Allan Kelly (AFP, Saturday 24th May)
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Sharapova is the new world No.1, and freely admits that the slow clay-surface of Roland Garros is not her favourite surface, but she is dismissive of those who say that she can never win in Paris as she has already done at Wimbledon, and at the US and Australian Opens.
"To be quite honest, it's quite amazing to be 21 years old and have somebody tell you that it's the only Grand Slam that you not haven't won," she said.
"Coming here last year, I knew that this was one of the two I haven't won, And coming in this year, it's the one that I haven't won.
"I've always said it: it's the toughest one - it's always going to be in my career - to win. But that's why I'm here. I've said it every single year. I love the challenges.
"When someone puts something in front of the line, that challenge in front of me, I'm hungry to go and try to achieve that challenge."
Sharapova's win in the Australian Open in January came in the final at the expense of Serbia's rising Ana Ivanovic: six months her junior and bent on usurping the Russian's crown.
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Maria has never played Evgeniya Rodina before, but it should be a nice gentle opener for her, seeing as Rodina is ranked #104, and is 8:12 in 2008 - three of those tournaments being on the ITF Women's Circuit.
Rodina's best result this year was winning four matches in a row to qualify and reach the second round of Indian Wells. Other than that, it's been mainly first-round losses - the latest 6-3 6-1 to Tsvetana Pironkova at Rome.
Maria's calf-injury is the only worry for the first round - and since I'm short on time as I write this, I'll just say that it pretty much is for the second round too.
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2289
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MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS)[1] v Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) � First meeting
Sharapova's preparation for Paris has been far from ideal: she withdrew from the Berlin-tournament citing injury, while a calf-strain forced her to hand a walkover-win to Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals at Rome.
But this is a Grand Slam, and the reigning Australian Open champion's ability to keep her focus and drive over two weeks is second to none � whatever the state of her game, and however much her body hurts.
What's more, the French Open is the only Slam to so far elude the 21-year-old, and with a new generation of stars coming through, she surely knows this could be the opportunity of her career. And, while clay isn't the Russian's best surface, Sharapova won't for a second be fazed by her installation as top seed.
Grand Slam d�butante Rodina reached the third round at Indian Wells earlier this year as a qualifier: her best tournament-result to date. The bad news for Sharapova's 19-year-old, 104th-ranked compatriot is that stumbling at the first hurdle simply isn't an option for the reinstated world No.1.
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French Open Preview: Day Three
by Aaress Lawless
http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/05/26/french-open-preview-day-three/
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Although she has described herself in the past as a "cow on ice," Maria Sharapova's claycourt-game has improved with every season. She still has not managed to get sliding down to an art, but she is comfortable at the net, and has started using the angles more to her advantage.
Unlike many other Russians, Sharapova feels no pressure when facing her countrywomen, so look for her to stroll into the second round in just two sets.
Maria Sharapova in 2 sets.
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+ MARIA SHARAPOVA [1,EF] d. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-1 3-6 8-6
I saw the whole match on BBCi. Maria struggled in very windy conditions that kept blowing red dust up into her face. She served 17 double faults, and made countless cheap groundstroke-errors.
Rodina - the 19-year-old world #103, playing her first Grand Slam - looks like Dinara Safina, played today like Safina, and like Safina, her will was just as strong as Maria's.
Having played the first two sets as a counterpuncher, Rodina was tired and physically hurt in the third set, but decided to go for her shots, and with Maria being so erratic, anything could have happened - especially when Maria faced three break-points at *3-4!
Maria could easily have become the first top seed at the French Open in the Open Era to lose in the first round, but instead, it's just another tough first-round match that one of the top seeds has come through this French Open, and another tough three-setter that Maria came through on clay this year. I don't like that she has to play again tomorrow!
SHARAP @ @*@*@ 6 RODINA @ 1
The match was originally scheduled fourth on Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday 27th May, but due to the rain, was rescheduled first on Chatrier on Wednesday.
Maria won the toss and elected to receive, and the match started at 11:10 CEST.
Rodina serving 0-0: Maria forehand return long. 15/0. Maria backhand wide. 30/0. Double fault (second serve just long). 30/15. Rodina backhand just long. 30/30. Rodina forehand just long. 30/40. Rodina backhand just long.
Alastair Eykyn blamed the cold, windy conditions for Maria's radar taking a couple of points to settle, and now she will serve into the wind.
Maria serving 1-0: Maria backhand wide. 15/0. Serve + backhand winner down the line (just inside it). 15/15. Maria got away with a questionable dropshot as Rodina lost a longish net v baseline exchange by netting a backhand volley. 30/15. Maria forehand sailed long. 30/30. Rodina hit a stunning backhand winner down the line! 30/40. Rodina netted a backhand after a longish baseline-rally. 40/40. Double fault (second serve into the net). Ad Rodina (BP). Maria on the third stroke slapped a backhand low into the net.
It was very windy in that game, judging by Maria's hair and what the commentators said.
Rodina serving 1-1: Maria netted a backhand return. 15/0. Maria played a fabulous spreading rally, culminating with a crosscourt forehand onto the sideline + crosscourt backhand winner. 15/15. A deep forehand return onto the baseline forced Rodina into error. 15/30. Double fault (second serve hit the netcord and fell wide). 15/40. Good serve into the corner: return forehand long. 30/40. Rodina hit a crosscourt forehand just inside the sideline, forcing Maria to net a forehand. Sam Smith: "And there lies the problem for Sharapova on this surface: when she gets moved out of position, getting back is very tough for her, 'cause she doesn't really push off on her outside leg, doesn't really slide, stop and get back." 40/40. Maria hit a forehand winner down Rodina's forehand-sideline. Ad Maria (BP #3). Rodina overhit a forehand to make it three breaks in a row.
Alastair Eykyn contrasted Maria's "ungainly" movement on clay with Rafael Nadal's sliding, and Sam Smith's microphone cut out before she could tell us the best description she's ever heard of Maria on clay.
Maria serving 2-1: Rodina forehand long. 15/0. Serve + off-forehand winner. 30/0. Maria backhand just wide. 30/15. Service-winner. 40/15. Rodina netted a backhand.
Rodina serving 1-3: Rodina forehand just long. 0/15. Rodina forehand very long. 0/30. Maria actually slid into a shot to dig it out of the clay, and Rodina netted a forehand. 0/40. Rodina on the third stroke sprayed a forehand very long.
Sam Smith: "So far she's playing this spot on. Tough conditions, unknown opponent, and she's keeping the ball well inside the lines."
Maria's about to serve into the wind again.
Maria serving 4-1: Double fault (second serve into the net). 0/15. Maria hit an error-forcing crosscourt backhand just inside the sideline. 15/15. Double fault (second serve just long). 15/30. Maria off-forehand winner just inside the sideline. 30/30. Double fault (second serve long). 30/40. A long baseline-rally ended with Rodina hitting a backhand long, but boy was Maria unwise to leave it! Maria got a time-violation warning - the umpires at the French Open 2008 are really enforcing the 20-second rule more strictly than usual. 40/40. Ace out wide: short, and clipped the outside edge of the sideline. Ad Maria. Rodina came to the net, but a dipping pass at her feet forced her to hit a half-volley wide.
Alastair Eykyn: "The way she picks out the lines, time after time, separates her from so many." Sam Smith: "Her feet have improved so much in the last couple of years. Sometimes she does just footwork-drills."
Rodina serving 1-5: A deep, heavy backhand from Maria forced Rodina into error. 0/15. Maria netted a backhand return. 15/15. Double fault (second serve just long - induced by Maria standing in to receive). 15/30. Maria hit a deep backhand return-winner down the line. 15/40 (SP #1). Maria spread Rodina with a crosscourt forehand return down the line + crosscourt forehand, forcing Rodina to hit a forehand into the tramlines. Maria won the first set 6-1 at 11:40 (30m).
Alastair Eykyn said the draw had been kind to Maria because she has to play Dinara Safina in the fourth round! Sam Smith said she hadn't seen anything like the collapse from 5-1 in the third set at the French Open 2006 from Maria before or since.
SHARAP * * * 3 RODINA @* * * *@ 6
Maria serving 0-0: Maria on the third stroke hit a deep crosscourt forehand, just inside the baseline, which forced Rodina to hit a forehand long. 15/0. Double fault (second serve into the net). 15/15. Maria came to the net, but hit a weak backhand volley and netted an awkward low forehand volley - "definitely complicated by the wind" [Alastair Eykyn]. 15/30. Maria ran down a dropshot but hit a forehand very long. 15/40. Rodina netted a forehand return. 30/40. A longish baseline-rally ended with Maria hitting an off-forehand winner back behind Rodina. 40/40. Rodina came to the net, and after several volleys, forced Maria to hit a defensive forehand lob long. Ad Rodina (BP #3). Maria netted a cheap backhand on the third stroke to lose her serve from the good end, which Sam Smith had said at 40/40 she was determined not to do.
Rodina serving 1-0: Maria opened up the court with a wonderful crosscourt backhand, but inexplicably went back crosscourt instead of down the wide open line, so it was Rodina who got to hit a backhand winner down the line. 15/0. Rodina forehand long. 15/15. Double fault (second serve long). 15/30. Rodina came to the net, but her volley sat up nicely for Maria to hit a forehand pass-winner down the line. 15/40. Maria whacked a forehand return just wide. Sam Smith said Rodina was unwise to serve out wide to Maria's forehand. 30/40. Maria netted a forehand return. 40/40. A longish baseline-rally ended with Maria netting a forehand. Ad Rodina. Maria hit a thunderous forehand return + crosscourt backhand, forcing Rodina to hit a defensive backhand lob wide & just long. Deuce #2. Rodina's backhand forced Maria to hit a forehand lob long. Ad Rodina. Maria hit a forehand return long.
Maria serving 0-2: Ace out wide. 15/0. Maria pounced on a short sliced forehand from Rodina to hit a crosscourt forehand winner. 30/0. Service-winner down the middle. 40/0. Serve out wide + off-forehand winner back behind Rodina.
Rodina serving 2-1: Maria netted a forehand return. 15/0. Maria backhand long. 30/0. Rodina hit one of the shortest second serves I've ever seen; Maria came in behind a forehand return, inducing Rodina to hit a backhand wide. 30/15. Service-winner down the middle: on the service-line. 40/15. Rodina's backhand on the third stroke clipped the netcord and fell back on her side. 40/30. A short mishit forehand from Maria induced Rodina to net a forehand. 40/40. Maria backhand return long. Ad Rodina. Maria backhand just wide.
A worrying number of errors are creeping into Maria's game now, Rodina's coping with the pace better and getting more balls back, and the possibility of a third set suddenly seems very real - I would never have believed it any time between seeing the draw and 1-2* in this set.
Maria serving 1-3: Serve + off-backhand winner onto the sideline. 15/0. Service-winner. 30/0. Double fault (second serve into the net). 30/15. Quadruple fault ("horrible" second serve near the bottom of the net). 30/30. Sextuple fault! (second serve into the net). 30/40. Rodina forehand long. 40/40. Rodina netted a forehand. Ad Maria. Serve + crosscourt backhand winner.
I can't believe Maria got away with three double faults in a row!
Alastair Eykyn: "Tennis is one of those games where, when something starts to bother you, it doesn't lurk in the recesses of your mind - it comes right to the front of your mind."
Rodina serving 3-2: Rodina backhand just long. 0/15. Maria came to the net and hit a two-handed backhand drive-volley winner crosscourt. 0/30. Serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner. 15/30. Maria backhand just long. 30/30. Maria netted a forehand. 40/30. Maria backhand wide.
Alastair Eykyn: "The serve of the younger Russian is something that's not going to really menace Maria Sharapova. I love watching her because she minds so much - she takes it as a personal affront when she's down in a set."
Sam Smith: "When she was denied a toilet-break at Amelia Island, she lost it for a while."
Maria serving 2-4: Rodina backhand wide. 15/0. Rodina forehand wide. 30/0. Maria came to the net and hit a backhand drive-volley winner down the line. Alastair Eykyn: "There's a violence about Sharapova's game at the moment." 40/0. Double fault #9 (second serve long). 40/15. Double fault #10 (second serve into the net). Sam Smith: "Just all of a sudden seems to lose her rhythm and her timing." 40/30. Maria netted a forehand. 40/40. Maria from outside the tramlines hit a forehand winner down the line: right in the corner. Ad Maria. Rodina netted a backhand.
Sam Smith (at 40/40): "I don't think Maria's in any danger from Rodina, but these double faults are a growing problem. She needs to up her level right now."
As they went to the changeover, the wind swept a big cloud of red dust up into their eyes.
Rodina serving 4-3: Maria netted a forehand. 15/0. Rodina came to the net behind an aggressive crosscourt forehand, and hit an off-forehand drive-volley winner. 30/0. Maria blasted a backhand return very long. 40/0. Double fault (second serve just long). But the umpire checked the mark and overruled it, so they replayed the point with another first serve for Rodina. Maria blasted a backhand return that clipped the netcord and fell wide.
Sam Smith: "If this was on a hard court, played in normal conditions, she would just be knocking Rodina over right now.
����������� "Great champions don't just give you a set, even if they've been making a lot of errors previously."
Maria serving 3-5: Service-winner. 15/0. Rodina forehand long. 30/0. Maria slugged a down-the-line backhand just wide. 30/15. Rodina sprayed a wild backhand very long - perhaps she's getting nervous at the prospect of taking a set off the world #1. 40/15. Double fault (second serve into the net). 40/30. Maria netted a forehand. 40/40. Huge serve + forehand dropshot-winner. Ad Maria. She hit a forehand long on the third stroke. Deuce #2. Double fault (second serve into the net). Ad Rodina (SP #1). Huge cheer from the crowd. Maria came to the net, but Rodina's backhand down the line forced her to net a forehand volley. Rodina won the second set 6-3 at 12:31 (second set 51m, match so far 1h21m).
I had counted on this match being shorter than 1h41m, and now I face an unexpected set with a full bladder, just 9 minutes left on my videotape, and a very real possibility of an unbelievable upset.
So far this French Open, every top player I've seen has struggled through her first-round match - often in three sets - but they've all won through in the end.
SHARAP * * * * * *@* 8 RODINA * * * * * * 6
Rodina serving 0-0: Maria forehand long. 15/0. Maria blasted a backhand return long. 30/0. Rodina forehand long. 30/15. Maria slapped a wild forehand into the net. 40/15. Rodina blasted a wild backhand long & wide. 40/30. Maria hit another wild forehand just long & just wide, giving Rodina her first lead of the match.
Sam Smith: "She doesn't play with a lot of topspin, and that's kind of what you need today"Maria serving 0-1: Maria backhand long. 0/15. Rodina sprayed a wild forehand out of sight. 15/15. Rodina backhand long, and a "c'mon" from Maria. 30/15. The wind blew dust up in Maria's face. Service-winner. 40/15. Service-winner.
Sam Smith: "That for me is the worst game Rodina's played in the match."Rodina serving 1-1: A sharp forehand from Rodina, low over the net, forced Maria to hit a forehand wide. 15/0. A good off-forehand from Rodina forced Maria to net a backhand. 30/0. Maria on the fourth stroke went for a crosscourt backhand onto the sideline, but it was just wide. 40/0. Maria punished a short second serve with a penetrating off-forehand return + off-forehand drop-volley winner. 40/15. A good, deep first serve forced Maria to hit a forehand return just long.
This third set is going with serve so far, so it's a real shame Maria lost the second on her serve.
Sam Smith: "She's trying to finish the points early, going for more, but I don't think there are any shortcuts past Rodina."
Alastair Eykyn tipped Maria to win because she's been in this situastion many times before, and is one of the game's great battlers, while it's new territory for Rodina.
Maria serving 1-2: Double fault #13 (second serve long). 0/15. Maria's deep crosscourt backhand forced Rodina to net a backhand. 15/15. A long, nailbiting baseline-rally included Maria hitting several lines, and finally taking the initiative with a short-angled crosscourt backhand just inside the sideline + deep down-the-line backhand that caught the outside edge of the baseline, forcing Rodina to hit a forehand lob wide and slip over. Sam Smith: "If ever there was a point to take [Rodina's] legs away, that was it." 30/15. Rodina forehand return long. 40/15. Rodina hit a "tremendous" off-forehand winner just inside the sideline. 40/30. Maria spread Rodina with an off-forehand + crosscourt forehand into the corner, forcing her into error.
Sam Smith: "Tennis is all about problem-solving. It's the same for Rodina, but doesn't seem to be bothering her as much."
I feel confident in Maria right now. Rodina's playing well, but Maria's not made quite so many wild errors just recently.
Rodina serving 2-2: Maria came to the net but hit a forehand wide. 15/0. Maria blasted a wild forehand return long & wide. 30/0. Maria played tentatively and gruntlessly, and Rodina's well-placed crosscourt backhand forced her into error. 40/0. Rodina hit a huge, deep crosscourt forehand winner.
Maria serving 2-3: Maria went for a big forehand down the line, but it was just wide. Alastair Eykyn: "Missing key shots at difficult times." 0/15. Double fault #14 (second serve into the net). 0/30. Rodina forehand long. 15/30. Serve + huge crosscourt forehand forced Rodina to hit a forehand wide. 30/30. A long, nailbiting rally ended with Maria hitting an off-forehand winner, and Rodina's legs seem to be hurting. 40/30. Maria hit a deep, error-forcing forehand down the middle, just inside the baseline.
Alastair Eykyn: "Rodina looks exhausted."
Sam Smith: "She's not just conditioned to play at this level and this intensity for such a long time."
Rodina serving 3-3: Serve + crosscourt backhand forced Maria to net a left-handed forehand. 15/0. Ace. 30/0. Service-winner out wide. 40/0. Double fault (second serve long). 40/15. Maria on the fourth stroke netted a cheap backhand.
Rodina may be tired, and may be in danger of going for too much too early, but that was a great service-game, and if Maria keeps making these cheap errors...
Maria serving 3-4: Rodina netted a backhand. 15/0. Maria came in behind a sliced off-backhand, but Rodina came up with a forehand pass down the line. 15/15. Rodina opened up the court with a crosscourt forehand, and hit a pinpoint forehand winner down the line - on the sideline! 15/30. Maria seemed to have the initiative, but netted a cheap, unforced forehand. 15/40. Service-winner out wide: just inside the sideline. 30/40. Serve + crosscourt forehand induced Rodina to hit a forehand long. 40/40. Double fault #15 (second serve just long). Ad Rodina (BP #3). Big first serve down the middle, on the service-line: forehand return just long. Deuce #2. Rodina backhand return long. Ad Maria. After a longish baseline-rally, Maria smacked a crosscourt backhand winner, and Rodina slipped over.
Rodina serving 4-4: Maria hit a cool backhand dropshot-winner. Only three dropshots from her in this match, but all at the right time. 0/15. Serve + deep backhand virtual winner down the line. 15/15. A short second serve went unpunished as Maria netted a backhand on the fourth stroke. 30/15. A long, nailbiting rally ended with Rodina netting a forehand. 30/30. The wind blew more dust up in their faces. Maria mishit a forehand return into the net. 40/30. Maria backhand return wide.
Sam Smith: "Rodina is a good counterpuncher, but she also has an offensive game. I'm not sure the Rodina collapse or mental meltdown is going to happen - her body might fall apart before she gets to the end of the match, but she's got wonderful ball-control. I think she's got terrific feel from her shots. She's got very simple swings - there's not actually a lot to go wrong in her game. Her second serve gets a little droopy at times, but in these conditions, junk-tennis isn't a bad thing."
Maria serving 4-5: First serve out wide: forehand return just long. 15/0. Maria crosscourt backhand winner. Alastair Eykyn: "Physically, it is taking it out of Rodina." 30/0. Maria left her forehand-sideline unprotected, and Rodina exploited the gap with a big backhand winner down the line. 30/15. Double fault #16 (second serve long). 30/30. Virtual ace out wide: Rodina just clipped it with her forehand. 40/30. Service-winner out wide.
Rodina serving 5-5: Maria's acute crosscourt forehand forced Rodina to hit a forehand long, even though she could have hit a forehand winner down the line. 0/15. Backhand return just long. 15/15. Maria dumped a backhand return halfway up the net. 30/15. Maria, pushed way back behind the baseline by a ball on it, hit a forehand long. Maria stood with her hands on her hips. 40/15. Maria on the fourth stroke hit a crosscourt backhand winner. 40/30. Off a deep ball down the middle from Maria, Rodina hit a forehand wide - nervous? 40/40. A deep crosscourt forehand from Rodina forced Maria to bunt a forehand long. Ad Rodina. Maria opened up the court with a crosscourt forehand, but hit a down-the-line forehand just wide.
Maria just isn't making an impression on Rodina's serve in this set, and just wasted her best chance to break.
And now Maria has to serve to stay in the match with the sun in her eyes and against the wind.
Maria serving 5-6: Maria came to the net, but looked leaden-footed as Rodina hit a backhand pass down the line - like Maria didn't expect her serve to come back. 0/15. Ace out wide. 15/15. Maria hit an off-forehand winner back behind Rodina - which clipped the netcord! 30/15. Serve out wide + crosscourt forehand winner just inside the sideline. Alastair Eykyn: "Defensive reply punished in full." 40/15. Amazing rally: Maria seemed to have the initiative when she spread Rodina with a crosscourt forehand + crosscourt backhand, but Rodina's dipping backhand down the line caught Maria in no-man's-land; she hit a half-volley forehand dropshot; Rodina ran it down and scooped a short forehand over the net; Maria hit a weak one-handed backhand lob, which Rodina dispatched with a forehand volley-winner. 40/30. Maria forced Rodina to net a backhand.
Sam Smith: "It's no longer about Maria not playing well. Rodina is just raising her level to heights that she's never been before."
Rodina serving 6-6: Rodina netted a forehand. 0/15. Rodina forced Maria to hit a defensive forehand lob long. 15/15. A short second serve went unpunished as Maria netted a forehand. She yelled in frustration. 30/15. Maria backhand dropshot-winner. 30/30. Rodina sprayed a backhand wide off a testing backhand just inside the sideline from Maria. 30/40. Maria backhand wide. 40/40. Maria came to the net behind a forehand that clipped the netcord, giving Rodina a golden opportunity for a forehand pass-winner down the line - but it was just long. Rodina bent over like her knees were hurting. Ad Maria (BP). Rodina backhand long.
About bl**dy time too! Here's Maria's first chance to serve for the match.
Maria serving 7-6: First serve out wide: Rodina netted a forehand return. 15/0. Rodina netted a forehand off a low ball from Maria. 30/0. The dust is blowing up into Maria's eyes, delaying her from serving. Another time-violation would cost her a penalty-point, as it did Jelena Jankovic the other day. Double fault #17 (second serve into the net). 30/15. After a short rally, Maria netted a backhand. 30/30. It's blowing a gale. Maria came to the net, hit a lovely off-backhand drop-volley winner, and shouted "c'mon". 40/30 (MP #1). Maria took the initiative on the seventh stroke with a crosscourt backhand onto the sideline to force a short floater from Rodina; Maria hit a crosscourt forehand and retreated to the baseline as Rodina replied with a forehand down the line; Maria hit a penetrating crosscourt backhand into the corner, and Rodina's crosscourt backhand sailed wide. Maria won 6-1 3-6 8-6 at 13:40 (third set 1h09m, match 2h30m).
NELSON MONTFORT: Maria, good afternoon. <Inaudible> But you are used to those fights, because last year, I think, on Suzanne Lenglen against Patty Schnyder, today against Yevgeniya, who said very nice words about you. She said maybe a little more experience on your side made the difference.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, you know, I just hung in there. Erm, it was far from my best tennis today. But you know, I think, at the end of the day, you try to learn your mistakes, and you're... you know, you're lucky to get a 'W' at the end of the day, and give yourself another opportunity, and erm, you know, this is a Grand Slam stage, and you're gonna fight till the end, till the last point, and, you know, I was very close to losing this match.
NELSON MONTFORT: Two points from defeat, I believe, at one moment. Er, after winning the first set 6-1, everything seemed to be going very well, in your favour - and then what happened?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Erm, you know, I got broken in that first game, and then er... you know, she served well, and I don't think I broke her until that third set - er, you know, in the end of that third set. So she was serving quite well, and er, you know, I just... I don't know. <Starts laughing> Not many things were working for me today after that first set, so I'll just try to improve on that.
NELSON MONTFORT: Your fans will be very pleased. Merci, Mademoiselle Sharapova, merci.
Maria had a woeful W:UE ratio of 10:68 (32 UEs in the second set alone), while Rodina's was even worse at 3:28 (but only 5 UEs in that long third set).
Maria served a monstrous 17 double faults (8 in the second set alone) and just 2 aces, Rodina one ace and 5 double faults.
Maria got 64% of her first serves in, winning 76% of the points when she did so, and 32% on second serve. Surprisingly, these percentages did not vary wildly from set to set.
����������� The corresponding percentages for Rodina were not dissimilar - 74%, 65% and 33% - but they all improved dramatically from the first set (65%, 33% and 13%) to the second and third.
Maria served faster than Rodina in all categories: fastest 114-111 mph, average first serve 101-94 mph, average second serve 86-82 mph.
Maria broke 5 times from 10 BPs (0 from 2 in the second set), Rodina just 3 times from 11 BPs (she had 3 BPs in the third set and didn't convert).
Maria won 9 of 16 points at the net, Rodina 5 of 12.
In points, Maria won 103-94 (first set 29-15, second set 30-36, third set 44-43).
Q. It was quite hard today, so can you tell us about - I don't know - the conditions, or what did give you so many problems today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Me, myself, and I. <laughter> Number-one problem today. I started off well, and, you know, won the first set pretty comfortably. I kind of went downhill after that.
����������� You know, she broke me in that first game [of the second set]. And, you know, credit to her. She started serving a lot better and making a lot of first serves, and the wind not giving me a lot of opportunities to, you know, to attack.
����������� But, you know, I was quite tentative. I was giving her the opportunities to take control of the points, and not really playing the way I play my game. I was trying to maybe be somebody else that I'm not, and that can get you into trouble. It did today.
Q. Have you been disturbed by the wind or the condition of the clay?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great. I mean, you know, like the conditions were bad for me, they were bad for her, and they were bad for everybody else playing on all the other courts, so...
Q. Also, was it a problem for you, because normally you should have played yesterday, and then you had to wait maybe a lot yesterday and then you have to play today.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Everybody waited, too. I'm not the only one. I was actually lucky because I got to wait in my hotel-room while some others had to wait here because they were first or second match, so...
Q. How do you explain the problem with your serve?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: How do I what? Sorry. What did you say?
Q. You had quite problems with your serve, as well.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, I had problems in every department of my game today, so I'll have to improve on every aspect of those things.
Q. Is this kind of typical of a Grand Slam, you can prepare all you want and then all of a sudden you get conditions like that thrown at you today and all the stuff you did beforehand doesn't really mean all that much?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It does. It still does, because, you know, you come into the match, you know, doing everything you possibly can do. You try to get the best preparation. Obviously last week, you know, was a great sunny week with really good conditions and lots of practice-time.
����������� And then, just like every other year, the beginning of the tournament starts with a lot of rain, and the court-condition changes, and the weather-condition changes, and all the other factors come into play, and you find yourself playing a different ballgame, and you actually shouldn't be.
����������� You should be doing the things that you do best, and yeah.
Q. It's not unusual for tall players to sometimes have difficulty in windy conditions. Do you have any history of having problems playing in wind?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Ummm, no. Usually, most of the time, I'm a pretty good wind-player. You know, I adjust very well, because maybe 95% of the time my ball goes through the wind. And when you are there out there and you're playing 14-Under tennis and you're pushing the balls, then you create many problems, you know.
����������� You start thinking your opponent is doing something out of the ordinary. Well, what she's doing is she's making you hit another ball, and she's forcing you to hit an error.
����������� And that's what you do, because you start thinking and you are becoming tentative and you're not playing your game.
����������� So, no. Look, I've played in a lot of matches where it's been windy, and I've been successful in many of them. These are just days where you're not playing your best tennis. You can say the conditions were bad, you can say your opponent played well, you can say all those things. But at the end of the day, you're fortunate to get through the match, you're fortunate you're giving yourself another opportunity to play another match and to get better.
����������� Because realistically, I don't know if there's any way down from here, you know.
Q. I was thinking about your footwork.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: There was not a lot of footwork today either. I shouldn't be tired. That's the good thing. I didn't move too much. So that's a plus. <laughter>
Q. What's it like playing in a clay-court with no top dressing?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: With no clay?
Q. Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's... I don't know how to answer that question.
Q. Is it more like a hardcourt, because obviously it's not going to be as slippery?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's far from hardcourt. Far from it.
Q. You really can't describe it.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, it's dry and you've got sand blowing in your face. So you think it's a hardcourt, but then you feel like you're in a desert. I don't know.
����������� I mean, the court's like in Amelia Island, they're very slippery and there wasn't a lot of clay on it. But here you have a little bit more footing.
����������� But then, depends where the wind is going, the sand is blowing to one side. So on one side you don't have a lot of clay, but then you go on the other side where the wind is blowing to, and you have a lot of sand on that side. So I don't know.
Q. What caused the problems on the serve, as many double faults as you had?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Umm, maybe the conditions, maybe the wind, my toss. There are a lot of things I could name, you know.
Q. Is it something you're concerned about moving forward?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I don't think I'd be able to get away with, you know, with not playing and not serving that well with maybe with a different opponent and somebody that has more experience: you know, a top player.
����������� But, no, I'll work on it and it will be better.
Q. When things go so wrong, do you just erase this game from your memory, or do you kick it around and get a little hurt from it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You try to erase it. It still moves around a little bit here and there, and you just try to stay positive as much as you can. You try to look at the situation and the conditions as a challenge, and something that every player has to get through and pass.
����������� You know, this is not an easy road for anybody with the weather and with the conditions. But, you know, sometimes you end a match and you win it, and you come off the court and you say, you know, it's pretty impressive considering you didn't play your best tennis and you played against somebody that was very consistent and, you know, stayed in with you during the match, and you come out with a win.
����������� You know, you can be proud of yourself, but you obviously know you have to get better and it's going to get tougher, and, you know, the challenges are going to come more and more, and you're going to step up to the line and you have to challenge them.
Q. Different conditions, but very tough first-round match in Australia couple years ago. Is that something you can think about and draw upon in a match like this?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: That was, you know, quite a long time ago, and a different surface, and, you know, different opponent, obviously.
����������� You always want to try to get, you know, an easy match, especially in the first round, but that's the way things go. It's not always... it's not always a piece of cake, so...
Q. That's not in your mind at all?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: A match that was two years ago? I hope not. I have some issues if it was.
Q. You already said something about your bad day at the office, your bad day at the serve. How do you explain, if you have a child, let's say, you have to tell them that there is a No.1 in the world that makes 17 double faults. And then you have a player like Coria - who was finalist here - who makes 15, 20 double faults per match. Dementieva, who has been in the top 5, makes 20 double faults. I mean, how do you explain it? It's mentally? I mean, it's difficult, or not?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Umm, well, once you start naming that, I mean, jeez, yeah. Those are the statistics, but, you know, if you look back at the match, I think there are a few moments in the match where I think some points it was 30/All and I came out with some of the best serves of the match as well.
����������� So I don't know. You know, it's - it's tough to explain. Sometimes you just - you're going to have those days where many things are not working for you and you make errors and you, you know, kind of becomes like a roller-coaster ride. But it's all right.
Q. This incident happened early on in the match and clearly did not affect winning the first set. But were you annoyed or disturbed at all by the code-violation warning?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: For?
Q. Time-delay.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Sorry, the time? That seems like hours ago.
����������� No, I got one in Australia, I think, during my third round or something. I think in the Grand Slams, the amount of time you have in between the points is shorter, I assume, because any other tournament I don't get a code-violation.
����������� But that's all right. It's fine. I hit an ace after that, so maybe they should call it more often.
Q. That's why you hit second serves, right?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know, but it was an ace. I know it was an ace.
Gritty Sharapova survives scare [CEEFAX 490->492]
>>>
Maria Sharapova was given a huge scare before reaching the second round of the French Open with a 6-1 3-6 8-6 win over fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
The top seed struggled throughout in the blustery conditions, committing 68 unforced errors and 17 double faults.
Rodina, 19, had three break-points at 4-3 in the decider, but Sharapova found her serve when it counted.
And the world number-one's experience told as she broke at 6-6 before sealing victory after two-and-a-half hours.
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Sharapova admits to 'lucky win' [CEEFAX 490->492]
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Maria Sharapova admittd she had been fortunate to come through a titanic first-round clash against Evgeniya Rodina at the French Open.
"I was very lucky to win," said the top seed. "Not many things were working for me today after the first set.
"I was quite tentative, giving her opportunities to take control of points. I was trying to be somebody I'm not, and that can get you in trouble.
"Realistically, I don't know if there's any way down from here."
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Sharapova survives Rodina encounter [Teletext 495->497] Maria Sharapova survived a huge fright against Grand Slam d�butante Evgeniya Rodina in blustery conditions in Paris. The world No.1 eased through the first set, but she found it difficult to come to terms with the wind, and the top seed made 17 double faults in the match. Rodina fought back in the second set and had three break-points to make it 5-3 in the decider, but Sharapova held her nerve to come through 6-1 3-6 8-6. Maria: I caused problems [Teletext 497] Top seed Maria Sharapova admitted she only had herself to blame as she went close to becoming the first major casualty in this year's French Open. Playing in what she described as "desert" conditions, the world No.1 struggled against Evgeniya Rodina. Asked what had been her problem, Sharapova said: "Me, myself and I. I won the first set pretty comfortably, and I went downhill after that."
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Sharapova survives test [Teletext 497]
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Sharapova lives to fight another day (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot (editing by Pritha Sarkar and Miles Evans)
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World number-one Maria Sharapova was two points away from an embarrassing exit before finally prevailing 6-1 3-6 8-6 over fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina to advance to the second round of the French Open on Wednesday. The top seed, who is hoping to complete a career Grand Slam by winning the Roland Garros crown, served 17 double faults on a windswept Centre Court before downing the 19-year-old Slam-d�butante Rodina in two hours and 28 minutes.
Sharapova, who was in danger of becoming the first women's top seed to bow out at the first hurdle in Paris since the start of the professional game in 1968, refused to blame the weather-conditions.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great. The conditions were bad for me, they were bad for her, and they were bad for everybody else playing on all the other courts," she told reporters.
"I had problems in every department of my game today, so I'll have to improve on every aspect of those things."
Australian Open champion Sharapova surrendered her opening service-game to an opponent ranked #103 in the world, but recovered to clinch the first set in 29 minutes with a series of angled winners.
Rodina, however, took full advantage of Sharapova's problems with her serve to break early in the second set and again in the ninth game to level the contest.
Sharapova fought tooth and nail to hold serve in the decider, staving off three break-points in the eighth game.
It was Rodina who eventually cracked, though, sailing a backhand long in the 13th game to give Sharapova the only break of the set.
A shrieking Sharapova stood firm with her serve, and sealed the contest on her first match-point when Rodina hit a backhand wide.
The match, which was scheduled for Tuesday, had been postponed to Wednesday because of persistent rain in the French capital.
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Nadal hits overdrive as Sharapova stutters (Reuters)
By Miles Evans (editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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Rafael Nadal moved into the second round of the French Open ultimately with stunning nonchalance on Wednesday, while high winds and a Grand Slam d�butante threatened to trip up Maria Sharapova at the first hurdle.
While Nadal reflects on his win, Sharapova will be wondering how she is not booking grass-courts for extra practice ahead of Wimbledon.
The top seed was two points way from defeat against Evgeniya Rodina before prevailing 6-1 3-6 8-6 in two hours and 28 minutes of windswept, frustrating action on Centre Court.
No women's top seed has bowed out at the first hurdle in Paris since the sport turned professional in 1968, and for spells it looked like Rodina, making her Grand Slam bow, and the blustery conditions would upend Sharapova.
"I just hung in there," said the Russian, who could complete her career Grand Slam set in Paris next week.
"It was far from my best tennis today, but you try to learn from your mistakes. Not many things were working for me today."
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Sharapova averts disaster at French Open (PA SportsTicker)
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Top-seeded Maria Sharapova survived a scare in the opening round of the French Open on Wednesday.
Sharapova was taken to the brink of elimination by fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina before escaping with a 6-1 3-6 8-6 triumph.
Windy conditions at Roland Garros made things especially difficult for Sharapova, who overcame 68 unforced errors and 17 double faults. She avoided becoming the first women's top seed in the history of the claycourt Major to lose in the opening round.
"I was very close to losing this match," Sharapova said. "She served well after the first set, and I didn't break her until the end of the third set. Not many things were working for me today after the first set. I just hung in there."
The most tenuous part of the encounter for Sharapova came when she found herself two points from losing the match while serving at 5-6 (30/30), in the third set. The Australian Open champion managed to hold serve, however, and broke the 19-year-old Rodina in the next game en route to the victory.
"I started off well, won the first set, and everything kind of went downhill after that," Sharapova said. "A credit to her: she started serving better and making a lot of first serves in the wind, and not giving me a lot of opportunities to attack."
Ranked No.1 in the world as a result of Justine Henin's retirement earlier this month, Sharapova has never enjoyed playing on clay. The 19-time champion had never won an event on the surface until Amelia Island earlier this year.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great," Sharapova quipped when asked about the windy weather. "The conditions were bad for me, they were bad for her, and they were bad for everybody else playing on the other courts."
Sharapova, 21, will play unseeded American Bethanie Mattek in the second round.
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Sharapova barely wins in Paris; Nadal has no trouble
By Howard Fendrich: AP Tennis Writer
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Start with this statistic on a busy, blustery day at Roland Garros: Maria Sharapova hit 17 double faults. It bears repeating: 17.
She hammered hard serves, and they sailed long. She tapped soft serves, and they landed in the bottom of the net. And she played poorly enough overall to come within two points of becoming the only No.1-seeded woman in French Open history to lose in the first round.
Sharapova did regroup in time to barely piece together a 6-1 3-6 8-6 victory over Evgeniya Rodina: a Russian teen making her Grand Slam d�but on Wednesday.
"I don't think I'd be able to get away with not playing and not serving that well with maybe a different opponent and somebody that has more experience: a top player," said Sharapova, who placed part of the blame for her woes on swirling wind that kicked up clouds of dust on court. "But I'll work on it, and it will be better."
The awful serving and generally sub-par showing by someone who's supposed to be the best in the world at what she does shared top billing with the dry weather as Wednesday's most noteworthy developments. After three days of rain � Sharapova originally was to be on court on Tuesday � not a drop fell, permitting match after match after match at the clay-court Major.
Sharapova and other players around the grounds complained about the way loose particles got in their faces and left courts barer than usual.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great," Sharapova said. "It's dry and you've got sand blowing in your face. So you think it's a hard court, but then you feel like you're in a desert."
Sharapova, who also won in Melbourne in January, made more than twice as many unforced errors as Rodina: 51-23.
"I had problems in every department," Sharapova said. "Realistically, I don't know if there's any way down from here."
She could, at least, take solace in not having joined No.9 Marion Bartoli on the way out after one match. Bartoli, a Frenchwoman who was a Wimbledon-finalist last year, but is struggling with a wrist-injury and an 8:12 record at the moment, lost to Casey Dell'Acqua of Australia 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2.
Sharapova twice served three double faults in a single game, making recreational players everywhere feel better about their own foibles. On occasion, she resorted to first serves barely above 80 mph, which might not sound too shabby, but certainly is on the slow side for a three-time Major-champion.
Trailing 3-4 in the final set, Sharapova faced three break-points and saved them, remarkably, with three fantastic first serves. Then, down 4-5, a � wait for it � double fault made the score 30/30, putting Rodina two points from about as big a stunner as tennis has seen. Somehow, Sharapova mustered two service-winners: at 101 mph and 102 mph.
Three games later, Sharapova finally seized control, breaking serve to go ahead 7-6 with a big forehand return that caught Rodina flat-footed.
Sharapova still had to hold serve one more time, and she did, although not before one last double fault: No.17.
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Sharapova wins French Open first round (AFP)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova battled back from the brink of defeat against Russian d�butante Evgeniya Rodina to win a dramatic first-round tie at the French Open on Wednesday.
The world No.1 came through 6-1 3-6 8-6, but baby-faced Rodina came within two points of pulling off what would have been one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
No women's top seed had ever lost in the first round before.
"I just hung in there. It was far from my best tennis, but you just learn from your mistakes. I was very close to losing this match," said Sharapova, who served up 17 double faults.
"Not many things were working for me today after that first set."
The Australian Open champion inherited the world top ranking when Justine Henin unexpectedly retired earlier this month, but living up to her rank in Paris is a hard ask for 21-year-old Sharapova, whose game and movement are not suited to the slow claycourts of Roland Garros.
The 19-year-old Rodina though was not expected to be much of a danger to her, playing as she was in her first Grand Slam tournament and ranked a lowly 103rd in the world.
Tuesday's torrential rain having given way to blustery, sunny conditions, Sharapova broke her opponent's serve to get her sixth French Open campaign underway, only to drop her own serve in the following game.
After that, it was all one-way traffic as Sharapova rattled off the next five games to take the first set 6-1.
But it was a different story at the start of the second set, as both players - especially Sharapova - struggled to cope with the gusting wind that sent the red clay surface-dust flying.
Rodina broke Sharapova's serve to go 2-0 up, and she held doggedly on to that break as the world No.1 piled up the double faults and sprayed her groundstrokes wide and long.
The younger of the two Russians visibly grew in confidence as she got to 5-3 up, and then levelled the tie by again breaking Sharapova's serve in the following game.
Games went with serve until 4-3 to Rodina in the deciding set, and a huge upset was firmly on the cards, especially when she had three break-points to go 5-3 up.
Sharapova dug deep to level at 4-4, and she then twice had to serve to stay in the match.
She managed to do so, and then, with her opponent starting to suffer with leg-cramps, she finally grabbed the break of serve she needed to go 7-6 up.
Sharapova duly served out for the match, and will next play Bethanie Mattek - who defeated Madison Brengle 6-3 2-6 6-4 in an all-American clash - for a place in the third round.
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Sharapova survives clay-nightmare at French Open (AFP)
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Maria Sharapova is trying hard to like claycourts, but they don't seem to like her that much.
The sport's glamour-girl and biggest draw came within two points of becoming the first women's top seed ever to lose in the first round of the French Open on Wednesday, before she dug deep to defeat Russian compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6-1 3-6 8-6 in 2 hours, 28 minutes.
Following the torrential rain that decimated Tuesday's programme at Roland Garros, the match was played out in blustery conditions that at times whipped up a storm of red dust from the clay-surface.
Both players struggled to cope with the whirlwinds, but especially Sharapova, who needs a win in Paris to complete a sweep of all four Grand Slam titles in her career.
"It's dry and you've got sand blowing in your face. So it feels like a hardcourt, but then you feel like you're in a desert," she replied when asked how the conditions had been.
"But then it depends where the wind is going, and the sand is blowing to one side.
"So on one side, you don't have a lot of clay, but then you go on the other side where the wind is blowing to, and you have a lot of sand.
"Apart from eating and breathing sand, it was great. The conditions were bad for me, they were bad for her, and they were bad for everybody else playing on all the other courts."
Sharapova, though, admitted that the main problem she had in struggling against a 19-year-old playing in her first Grand Slam event had been "Me, myself and I."
The world No.1 is playing for a sixth straight year at Roland Garros, and to date, her best performance has been a semi-final appearance last year, when she was soundly beaten by Ana Ivanovic.
But the sudden retirement of clay-queen Justine Henin, which elevated her to the number-one spot, has given Sharapova renewed hope that she can triumph over adversity one day in Paris.
But to do that, she knows that she will have to vastly improve on her service-game, having sent down 17 double faults against Rodina.
"Those are the statistics, but if you look back at the match, I think there were a few moments where I think I came out with some of the best serves of the match," she said.
"It's tough to explain. Sometimes you are going to have one of those days where many things are not working for you, and you make errors and it kind of becomes like a roller-coaster. But it's alright."
Sharapova will next play Bethanie Mattek - who defeated Madison Brengle 6-3 2-6 6-4 in an all-American clash - for a place in the third round.
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Sharapova in great escape as Ferrero bows out (AFP)
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Maria Sharapova narrowly avoided becoming the first women's top seed in French Open history to lose in the opening round on Wednesday.
The Russian served up an ugly 17 double faults, and toiled for two and a half hours before squeezing past teenage compatriot and world number 104 Evgeniya Rodina 6-1 3-6 8-6.
Sharapova, who needs a French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, twice had to serve to stay in the match as she struggled to tame both her opponent and the vicious, swirling wind that replaced Tuesday's rain-deluge.
"I just hung in there. It was far from my best tennis, but you just learn from your mistakes. I was very close to losing this match," said Sharapova: semi-finalist in 2007.
"Not many things were working for me today after that first set."
Sharapova will take on American qualifier Bethanie Mattek for a place in the last 32.
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Sharapova survives at French Open (AP)
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When the ball was in play, Maria Sharapova at least was able to make something happen.
The top-seeded Russian struggled with her serve in the wind at the French Open, and barely managed to defeat 103rd-ranked Evgeniya Rodina 6-1 3-6 8-6 on Wednesday in the first round.
Sharapova had 17 double faults, and landed only 64% of her first serves in the match on centre-court, where she is trying to complete a career Grand Slam at the clay-court Major.
"I was very close to losing this match," Sharapova said. "Not many things were working for me today after the first set."
The 19-year-old Rodina came within two points of winning at 5-4 in the third set, but Sharapova won the next two with strong serves to hold. At 6-6, Sharapova regained control by breaking serve for the first time in the final set, returning a second serve with a big forehand that caught Rodina flat-footed.
Then, serving for the match, Sharapova double-faulted one final time, but took the next three points to end it.
In the fifth game of the second set, Sharapova double-faulted three times in a row. After the third, she put her hands on her hips and stared blankly.
"I had problems in every department of my game today, so I'll have to improve on every aspect of those things," Sharapova said.
Although the three-time Grand Slam champion was having trouble landing her serves, Sharapova was more consistent with her groundstrokes, often playing long rallies before hitting a winner or waiting for Rodina to make a mistake.
"I just hung in there. It was far from my best tennis today," Sharapova said. "But at the end of the day, you try to learn from your mistakes."
Sharapova didn't directly blame the windy conditions for her poor play.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great," she said.
Sharapova dominated the first set, losing only her first service-game. In one stretch, she won 10 of 11 points to take a 4-1 lead.
But the Russian then double-faulted three times in the following game before she held.
Rodina broke Sharapova in the first game of the second set, and then held for the first time to take a 2-0 lead. She held the rest of the way, and broke Sharapova again in the final game of the set.
Rodina was playing in her first Grand Slam tournament. She lost in the first qualifying-round at the Australian Open this year.
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Sharapova stutters into second round
By Orla Coady (www.rolandgarros.com)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova began her quest for the only Grand Slam to have eluded her with an unconvincing display over fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina in the first round of the French Open.
Sharapova took almost two and a half hours to get the better of her lowly-ranked opponent 6-1 3-6 8-6 in a strangely subdued performance to struggle into the second round.
As the sun finally shone on Roland Garros, it all seemed to be going Sharapova's way on the Philippe Chatrier court as she cruised to the first set 6-1 in under thirty minutes, despite dropping her serve in the second game. However, all that was to change at the start of the second as, with neither player playing particularly well, Rodina took advantage of an increasing number of errors to break Sharapova and hold onto her own serve to maintain the advantage.
Games continued to go with serve until 3-5 when Sharapova, struggling with her serve in the blustery conditions, served her twelfth double fault to give Rodina set-point. With Sharapova making a rare foray to the net, Rodina held her nerve and passed her with a forehand winner to take the set in 51 minutes.
Rodina began the third set by holding her serve comfortably as Sharapova continued to look out of sorts. Currently ranked #103 in the world, 19-year-old Rodina showed no sign of nerves as she held comfortably, while Sharapova seemed to have all kinds of trouble with her own serve.
Rodina appeared to be suffering from cramp at the end of the third set, but battled on and even had break-points for a 5-3 lead in the decider, but Sharapova managed to hang on to level at 4-4.
The world number-one's experience finally told as she finally broke Rodina at 6-6 in the third set, and served the match out to win 8-6.
Afterwards, Sharapova acknowledged that she had had a lucky escape. "I was very close to losing this match," she admitted, "She served well after the first set and I didn't break her until the end of the third set. Not many things were working for me today after the first set. I just hung in there.
"Usually I'm a pretty good wind-player. I adjust very well, because maybe 95% of the time my ball goes through the wind. And when you are out there and you're playing 14-and-under tennis and you're pushing the balls, then you create many problems. You start thinking your opponent is doing something out of the ordinary. Well, what she's doing is she's making you hit another ball and she's forcing you to hit an error. You start thinking and you are becoming tentative and you're not playing your game. Look, I've played in a lot of matches where it's been windy, and I've been successful in many of them. These are just days where you're not playing your best tennis. At the end of the day, you're fortunate to get through the match. Because realistically, I don't know if there's any way down from here."
Sharapova will face American Bethanie Mattek in the second round.
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Maria Sharapova Struggles in 2008 French Open D�but
Article by Aaress Lawless
http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/05/28/maria-sharapova-struggles-in-2008-french-open-debut/
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Maria Sharapova came close to making French Open history in Paris on Wednesday.
At one stage during her opening-round match today, Sharapova was only two points away from a first-round upset.
No top-seeded female player has ever been beaten in the first round of Roland Garros, although Sharapova flirted with breaking that statistic today.
After over two hours of play, top seed Maria Sharapova battled past her countrywoman Evgeniya Rodina on Wednesday in three sets: 6-1 3-6 8-6.
Her shots were wild, her trademark confidence was only evident in patches, and her serve was clearly off as Sharapova hit seventeen double faults: the most of any male or female player so far in the tournament.
Sharapova is most vulnerable during the early rounds of a Major - a weakness many of her opponents have attempted to exploit.
Camille Pin gave her a scare in the 2007 Australian Open first round before Maria fought to a 6-3 4-6 9-7 win. Her 2007 US Open title-defense was ended in the third round by Agnieszka Radwanska, who managed to get into Maria's head for a lopsided 6-4 1-6 6-2 win.
Today in Paris, it was No.104 Evgeniya Rodina's moment of opportunity. The nineteen-year-old Russian was competing in her first Major, and her Grand Slam d�but was one to remember.
Rodina's zeal and aggression helped her stay with Sharapova during much of the last two sets, but in the end, Sharapova's experience allowed her to close out the win on her first match-point.
"I just hung in there," said Sharapova to the French media after the match. "I was very close to losing this match."
The top seed will play American Bethanie Mattek in the second round.
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Sharapova Escapes Upset; Ana, Serena Also Advance
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2293
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The first round finished and the second round started at Roland Garros on Wednesday, after rain wreaked havoc on Monday and Tuesday's schedules at the year's second Major.
Among those finally winning their first-round matches was No.1 seed Maria Sharapova; among those winning their second-round matches was No.5 seed Serena Williams: the only Roland Garros champion in this year's draw.
Sharapova, whose best result here was a semi-final finish a year ago, raced to a 6-1 first-set win over countrywoman Evgeniya Rodina, seemingly headed towards a straight-set rout. But Rodina had other ideas, and played a strong offensive and defensive game to push Sharapova to the limits, at one point coming within just two points of victory, but eventually falling 6-1 3-6 8-6 in nearly two and a half hours.
"Me, myself, and I: the No.1 problem today," said Sharapova, who narrowly avoided becoming the first top seed to lose first round at Roland Garros in the Open Era. "I had problems in every department today. I started well, but then it went downhill after that. I was quite tentative; I was giving her opportunities to take control, and not really playing my game. I was trying to be somebody I'm not, and that can get you into trouble. She started serving a lot better, and I have to give credit to her. But I need to improve on everything going forward."
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French Open: Windswept Maria Sharapova survives first-round scare at Roland Garros
By Mark Hodgkinson (The Daily Telegraph)
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The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament at which the players end up eating the court.
A terrible wind sucked and swirled around the Philippe Chatrier Court yesterday, whipping the top-soil clay off the surface and sending up tornado-clouds of orange-red dust.
The gusts caused the Roland Garros clay to end up in Maria Sharapova's mouth, eyes, ears and nose, kept blowing her blonde hair across her face as if she were a model at a photo-shoot standing beside a wind-machine, and also meant that the world No.1 did not find any rhythm on her serve and groundstrokes.
Sharapova's tennis didn't have much by the way of sheen and shine; she was eating clay, she was making errors, and she came within a granule or two of going out in the first round to fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina: a Grand Slam d�butante and the world No.103.
For Sharapova, this was the nearest she will probably ever get to experiencing what it is like to play tennis on the dunes of the Sahara Desert, right in the middle of a sandstorm, and no one would have been that surprised if she had taken a bathroom-break before the final set and come back wearing a dish-dash robe.
She hit 17 double faults, and more than a half-century of unforced errors, on the way to a 6-1 3-6 8-6 victory. To borrow from the tennis-coach Brad Gilbert, this was Sharapova 'winning ugly'. It was also Sharapova winning noisily, as some of her shrill grunts and shrieks must have carried all the way across Paris, especially when she was staving off the three break-points against her serve that could have given the teenaged Rodina a 5-3 lead in the final set.
"Apart from eating and breathing the sand, it was great," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. It was last year that Sharapova remarked that she felt like "a cow on ice" on the clay on the way to the semi-finals; yesterday her movement took her close to the Roland Garros abattoir.
Sharapova, 21, already has the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open titles to her name, and so has the opportunity here to complete a career Grand Slam. The pre-tournament retirement of four-time champion Justine Henin has significantly improved Sharapova's chances of overall victory. And the draw has also been kind to the American-based Siberian, with Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and the Williams-sisters all in the bottom half. No one had considered the possibility of the world's most famous sportswoman being bumped out in the first round by a total unknown.
The entrances of the two players told its own story. While Rodina walked on court in a grey 'hoodie' top that is standard issue for teenagers around the world, Sharapova came out in a smart navy blue jacket over her kit, and also had on a pair of 18-carat gold Tiffany earrings.
In the early stages, Sharapova looked to have the swing to go with the bling, and she took the opening set. But, thereafter, Rodina improved her tennis, going from the solid to the occasionally spectacular, while Sharapova's serve and forehand broke down like a desert-jeep with an engine clogged with sand. But Sharapova somehow got through.
The elements didn't smile on Sharapova yesterday, but Lady Luck certainly did.
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Nick Bollettieri's preview
http://nickstennispicks.com/
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Sharapova barely (two points away from losing) survived her first-round match against Evgeniya Rodina, winning 6-1 3-6 8-6. If she would have lost, she would have been the first top seed in the Open Era to fall in the first round. I'm very happy that she didn't suffer that fate!
Mattek won an all-American battle in the first round, beating Madison Brengle 6-3 2-6 6-4. One thing is for sure, you certainly never know what Mattek is going to wear out there for this match. I'm sure the designers are lining up to invent something original for her to sport, and this usually makes for an interesting topic of conversation!
Match-Up:
Sharapova is 2:0 against Mattek, including a win over her on clay earlier this year at Charleston. Mattek has a big forehand and loves to slug away from the baseline. She has been around for a while now, and knows how to put points together better than before. Her biggest weakness is her focus and concentration. She is very streaky and tends to be a bit all over the place mentally. On the other hand, Sharapova is as mentally strong as anyone. Clay may not be her best surface, but she makes up for it with her willingness to fight and never give up. I look for her to rebound in this match and put the doubters to rest.
Nick's Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets.
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Aaress Lawless's preview
http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/05/29/french-open-preview-day-six/
>>>
Maria Sharapova looked every bit the "cow on ice" on Wednesday before she pulled herself together for a close 8-6 third-set victory. No doubt Maria's father Yuri and coach Michael Joyce will have her drilling her serve on a practice-court, because the top seed hardly needs the distinction of being the biggest double-faulter on both sides of the draw. Bethanie Mattek has reached the second round of Roland Garros for the first time in her career, but I expect Sharapova to come out wielding as she attempts to redeem herself for her previous performance.
Maria Sharapova in 2 sets.
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+ MARIA SHARAPOVA [1,EF] d. Bethanie Mattek [Q], 6-2 3-6 6-2
Originally scheduled fifth on Court Lenglen on Thursday, the match was switched to Court Chatrier following David Ferrer's 6-0 6-1 6-0 win over Fabrice Santoro. So I got to watch it on BBCi, instead of having to follow live scores had it started after Monfils v Horna on Lenglen.
Sam Smith said the match was unlikely to finish on Thursday night, but that Maria would be keen to at least start it, because the last thing she needs is a backlog that could force her to play second round on Friday, third round on Saturday and fourth round on Sunday - especially with Dinara Safina being the likely fourth-round opponent.
Maria, who beat Mattek 6-0 6-0 the previous time they played, was in a hurry to get through the match before it became too dark, rushing through and between points. But it was a case of more haste, less speed, and Mattek started playing inspired tennis just before the suspension: using Maria's pace against her and finding tremendous depth; in fact she led *3-1 in the second set before Maria broke back for *2-3 just before it was suspended on Thursday night.
Sadly, Maria was just as erratic on Friday as on Wednesday and Thursday, even though it wasn't windy or dark on Friday. That she needed six sets to get past two players outside the top 100 makes me very pessimistic about her chances against Dinara Safina should they meet in the fourth round on Sunday, when Maria would be playing for the fifth day in a row.
Maria: "I'm not a clay-court specialist that's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back. I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best. You're going to have to hit more balls, and you're going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball. You have to be more patient. I'm definitely getting better at that, and I'm getting smarter out there."
On Thursday they were both in black (Maria's dress was actually obsidian), but on Friday, Mattek was wearing the pink one-shouldered dress that she showed us in a video on www.wtatour.com before this match began yesterday.
SHARAP @* @*@* 6 MATTEK *@ 2
The match started on Thursday evening at 20:27 CEST after being rescheduled onto Court Chatrier.
Mattek serving 0-0: Mattek on the third stroke hit an off-backhand wide. 0/15. Maria sprayed a forehand long. 15/15. Mattek forehand long. A deep return induced Mattek to hit a backhand wide. 15/40. Forehand return just long. 30/40. Mattek came to the net behind an approach that wasn't deep enough, and Maria's pass forced her to net a backhand volley.
Maria serving 1-0: A longish rally ended with Mattek hitting a backhand long. 15/0. Serve out wide: Mattek netted a forehand. 30/0. Maria forehand just long. 30/15. Mattek's defensive backhand floated long. 40/15. Maria tried to serve and volley, but a dipping return at her feet forced her to hit a backhand half-volley wide. 40/30. Maria smacked a hard backhand winner down the line.
Maria beat Mattek 6-0 6-0 when they played at Charleston just over a month ago, and will be keen to race through this one too, with perhaps an hour left before it becomes too dark to play. She's certainly rushing between points - I'm having noticeably more trouble keeping up with writing point-descriptions than I did in her first round.
Sam Smith: "Sharapova has this iron discipline: if something needs doing, she'll get it done."
Mattek serving 0-2: Mattek forehand long. 0/15. Maria crosscourt backhand winner after a lovely angled forehand to open up the court. 0/30. Maria hit a pinpoint backhand return-winner down the line: right in the corner. 0/40. Ace down the middle. 15/40. First serve: forehand return long. 30/40. Mattek came to the net behind a penetrating off-forehand, forcing Maria to net a backhand. 40/40. Mattek backhand long. Ad Maria (BP #4). Maria dumped a backhand return into the net. Deuce #2. Mattek came to the net, and Maria hit a "gorgeous" topspin backhand lob-winner. Ad Maria (BP #5). She slapped a forehand into the net on the fourth stroke. Deuce #3. Forehand return long. Ad Mattek. There was a stifled call of 'out' on Maria's crosscourt backhand to the sideline; the umpire checked the mark and confirmed the call, so Mattek avoided the double bagel this time.
Sam Smith: "Mattek does a little bit of this and a little bit of that - she doesn't construct points in a logical way."
Maria serving 2-1: On the third stroke, she dumped a backhand halfway up the net. 0/15. Maria came to the net, but Mattek hit a forehand pass-winner down the line. 0/30. Mattek blasted a forehand return long. 15/30. Maria's deep backhand forced Mattek into error. 30/30. Service-winner. 40/30. Off-forehand return-winner. 40/40. Double fault #1 (and #18 of the tournament) (second serve into the net). Ad Mattek (BP). Maria's forehand clipped the netcord and fell wide.
More haste, less speed? Mattek is already doing better than Rodina at the same stage of the match!
Mattek serving 2-2: Double fault (second serve just long & just wide). 15/0. Maria slapped a forehand into the net. 15/15. Maria hit an off-forehand dropshot-winner. Sam Smith: "She's got the guts now to use these shots." 15/30. Maria played a good spreading rally; Mattek neutered her initiative with a sliced backhand, but then Mattek's regular backhand was called long. 15/40. Mattek backhand long.
Maria serving 3-2: Maria came to the net behind a crosscourt backhand, forcing Mattek into error. 15/0. Maria forehand long. 15/15. Maria came towards the net behind a hard backhand down the line, and hit a forehand dropshot-winner. 30/15. Double fault #2 (second serve long). 30/30. Mattek hit a down-the-line forehand just wide. 40/30. Service-winner + "c'mon".
A "Noah's Ark" set so far, each player winning two games in a row.
Mattek serving 2-4: Maria got away with a pretty high backhand dropshot-winner. 0/15. Mattek went for a huge backhand winner down the line, but it was just wide. 0/30. Mattek came in behind a down-the-line backhand, forcing Maria to net a forehand pass. 15/30. Mattek on the third stroke netted an unforced forehand. 15/40. Double fault (second serve long & wide).
Sam Smith said Mattek was more talented than her ranking of #106, but throws in too many poor games like that one. She also said that Maria has "mentally everything you need to win on clay."
Maria serving 5-2 (new balls): Maria came to the net and hit a delicate forehand drop-volley winner. 15/0. Maria backhand very long. 15/15. Service-winner. 30/15. Maria caught the ball late and blasted a wild backhand wide. 30/30. Double fault #3 (second serve into the net). 30/40. A long baseline-rally ended with Mattek slugging an off-forehand wide. 40/40. Mattek backhand long. Ad Maria (SP #1). Forehand return just long. Maria won the first set 6-2 at 21:06 and 59 seconds (40 minutes).
Maria's going to have to win the second set 6-0 to finish the match tonight, because it's already quite dark, and the light will fade rapidly from here.
SHARAP * @* 3 MATTEK * *@ *@* 6
Mattek serving 0-0: Mattek netted a forehand. 0/15. Second serve: a penetrating backhand return forced Mattek to net a forehand. 0/30. Maria blasted a thunderbolt-backhand return wide. 15/30. Backhand return long. 30/30. Maria sprayed a forehand wide. 40/30. Maria dominated the rally and hit an off-forehand dropshot-winner. 40/40. With Mattek resorting to moonballs, Maria came to the net, but Mattek hit a forehand pass-winner down the line. Ad Mattek. She chopped a forehand long after a gorgeous spreading rally from Maria. Deuce #2. Maria took the initiative with a penetrating backhand return down Mattek's backhand-sideline to force a floater; Maria hit a high backhand drive-volley, but it sat up nicely for Mattek to take the initiative with a backhand down the line; Maria hit a weak crosscourt forehand, and Mattek a penetrating one, forcing Maria to hit a defensive forehand lob long. Ad Mattek. She hit a forehand long. Deuce #3. Mattek came forward, and Maria netted a backhand. Ad Mattek. Maria went for a blazing off-backhand winner onto the sideline, but it was just wide.
I have 12 minutes left on my video-tape. With little prospect of completing this match tonight, will it be suspended for bad light in that time?
Maria serving 0-1: Double fault #4 (second serve long). 0/15. Maria on the third stroke netted a backhand. 0/30. Maria came to the net and hit a gorgeous backhand punch-volley winner. Sam Smith: "You have to admire how well she's linking her baseline-play with her net-play now. She's doing it on quite important points, too." 15/30. Maria backhand just long. 15/40. Maria saved the first break-point with a cheeky forehand dropshot-winner from the baseline. 30/40. First serve: Mattek sprayed a forehand return long. 40/40. Ace out wide: right in the corner. Ad Maria. Forehand return very long.
Mattek serving 1-1: Maria hit a roaring crosscourt forehand return-winner onto the sideline. 0/15. Maria's backhand dropshot forced Mattek into error. 0/30. Maria came to the net, looked in trouble as Mattek hit a short-angled crosscourt forehand pass, but managed to squeeze a forehand pass-winner down the line. 0/40. Forehand return long. 15/40. Mattek took the initiative with a down-the-line backhand that caught the outside edge of the baseline, forcing Maria on the run to hit a short forehand; Mattek hit a forehand dropshot of her own, forcing Maria to net a backhand and slide after running it down. 40/40. Mattek drew Maria to the net with another dropshot, and hit a forehand pass-winner down the line. Ad Mattek. Maria on the fourth stroke netted a forehand.
Maria serving 2-1: Mattek forehand wide. 15/0. Maria hit a big serve, but Mattek used the pace against her with an off-forehand return, forcing Maria to hit a backhand long. 15/15. And again: Mattek hit an amazing forehand return just inside the baseline, and Maria hit a defensive backhand wide. Sam Smith: "She did a great job defensively there, Sharapova, but it's about getting herself back into the point, getting herself onto level terms again, and then restarting the point." 15/30. Double fault #5 (second serve into the net). 15/40. Maria came to the net, but Mattek's backhand pass forced her to hit a one-handed backhand volley wide.
This is becoming horribly reminiscent of Maria's first-round match, albeit because it's dark and she's rushing. And Mattek's playing great tennis now: using Maria's pace against her and finding tremendous depth. I wish they'd suspend it right now.
Mattek serving 3-1: Mattek backhand long. 0/15. Mattek played a great rally, but lost her initiative when Maria hit a left-handed forehand lob; Mattek resorted to moonballing, Maria came to the net and hit a deep forehand drive-volley, forcing Mattek to hit a forehand wide. 0/30. First serve out wide: Maria forehand return long. 15/30. Maria took the initiative with a searing crosscourt backhand return, but Mattek ran down her backhand dropshot to hit a superb crosscourt forehand dropshot onto the sideline; Maria ran behind the umpire's chair to retrieve it, leaving the court wide open for Mattek's crosscourt backhand winner. 30/30. A low ball from Maria forced Mattek to hit a backhand halfway up the net. 30/40. Double fault (short second serve out wide just wide).
Now they're going to play one more game, because it can only be suspended for bad light on an even number of games. Maria had a long argument with the umpire about this - she wanted it suspended immediately. "Believe me, I'm here to play tennis, so I wanna play, but if it's dark, it's dark. You're sitting on a chair..." The supervisor came out, and as both players wanted it suspended, it was suspended immediately (21:35 on Thursday), with Maria leading 6-2 *2-3.
The match was rescheduled second on Court Chatrier on Friday, and I saw it all on BBCi when it resumed at 12:53 (15h18m delay).
Maria serving 2-3: Second serve: Mattek forehand return long. 15/0. Serve out wide + backhand winner down the line. 30/0. Maria hit a down-the-line forehand just wide. 30/15. A couple of very deep backhands from Maria forced Mattek to hit a backhand long. 40/15. Mattek forehand long.
Mattek serving 3-3: Maria netted a backhand. 15/0. Mattek forehand long. 15/15. Mattek's second serve was called long, but the umpire checked the mark and ordered them to replay the point: Maria went for a forehand down the line, but it was just wide. Mark Petchey: "Not often that Maria doesn't get her way with men, probably!" 30/15. Maria forehand just long. Sam Smith: "Her forehand is flat, so that's why it flies long. She doesn't have quite the control on it that she does on her backhand." 40/15. Double fault (second serve long). 40/30. Mattek came to the net behind a penetrating crosscourt backhand just inside the sideline, and hit two forehand smashes off two defensive lobs, the second smash forcing Maria's defensive forehand lob to bounce on her side of the net.
So far, Mattek is continuing her good form from late last night, while Maria is a bit erratic, but taking her time between points today.
Maria serving 3-4: Second-serve service-winner. 15/0. Double fault (second serve long). 15/15. Maria went for an off-forehand winner onto the sideline, but it was wide by a whisker. 15/30. Serve + off-forehand forced Mattek to hit a defensive backhand lob just wide. 30/30. Maria on the third round hit a forehand long. 30/40. Mattek netted a sliced backhand, and Maria shouted "c'mon". 40/40. Double fault (second serve long). Ad Mattek (BP). Maria hit a forehand just wide.
Mark Petchey: "She's almost taking too much time between serves now - too much time to think. Her forehand and her serve are letting her down."
Mattek serving 5-3: Service-winner. 15/0. Mattek hit a crosscourt forehand to Maria's forehand-sideline, forcing Maria to hit a forehand wide. 30/0. Mattek forehand just long. 30/15. Second serve on the service-line: Maria blasted a wild off-forehand wide. 40/15 (SP #1). Maria netted a forehand. Mattek won the second set 6-3 at 13:10 (second set 16h03m gross, 45m net).
Mattek is just keeping the ball in play now, and Maria is self-destructing. Mark Petchey suggested it was traumatic for her that she beat Mattek 6-0 6-0 last time and is struggling so much against her this time.
Sam Smith: "On a hard court, her shot-selection is obvious, but on clay, she has to make a few adjustments. Her opponents have more time to move her around."
SHARAP *@* @*@ 6 MATTEK *@ 2
Maria serving 0-0: Mattek hit a defensive lob long by a whisker. 15/0. Maria backhand long. 15/15. Mattek forehand long. 30/15. Mattek hit a backhand down the line, just inside the sideline, inducing Maria to net a crosscourt forehand. 30/30. Mattek netted a sliced backhand. 40/30. Service-winner.
Sam Smith said Maria was taking too long between points, but that the umpire didn't want to upset her for a second time today.
Mark Petchey: "Other men have disappeared off the face of the planet for less!"
Mattek serving 0-1: Double fault (second serve long). 0/15. A crosscourt forehand from Maria induced Mattek to net a forehand dropshot. 0/30. Maria's forehand dropshot forced Mattek to hit a forehand long - the dropshot worked so well for her yesterday, but it's the first one we've seen today. 0/40. Mattek backhand just wide.
Maria serving 2-0: Ace out wide. 15/0. Maria hit a "delightful" backhand dropshot-winner. 30/0. Double fault (second serve into the net). 30/15. Maria hit a forehand dropshot from the baseline, but Mattek ran it down nicely and hit a deep sliced backhand that forced Maria to hit a forehand lob-volley long. 30/30. Ace out wide. 40/30. Maria opened up the court with a crosscourt forehand, and hit a forehand winner down the line: plumb on the sideline.
Sam Smith: "Sharapova doesn't put any pressure on herself on clay, even though she's the top seed. She's very humble."
Mattek serving 0-3: Good retrieving from Mattek, and Maria netted a backhand drive-volley. 15/0. Maria punished a second serve with a crosscourt forehand return-winner. 15/15. Mattek forehand long. 15/30. Maria on the fourth stroke hit a backhand long. 30/30. Mattek's dropshot induced Maria to net a backhand. 40/30. Maria mishit a forehand into the net.
Mark Petchey: "Sharapova struggles with her movement on clay, and will need to improve it to be a genuine title-contender here."
Maria serving 3-1: Double fault #8 (second serve into the net). 0/15. Maria came to the net and hit a crosscourt forehand drive-volley virtual winner. 15/15. Ace out wide - but the umpire called a let. Ace down the middle: on the service-line. 30/15. Maria backhand long. 30/30. Mattek slapped a forehand return into the net. 40/30. Double fault #9 (second serve into the net). 40/40. Double fault #10 (second serve long). Ad Mattek (BP). Maria on the third stroke hit a forehand long.
Sam Smith: "When her serve goes, it takes a bit of her personality away from the match."
Mattek serving 2-3: Maria hit a crosscourt forehand winner back behind Mattek. 0/15. Mattek came to the net and hit a crosscourt forehand volley-winner. 15/15. Maria ran down a dropshot and hit a crosscourt backhand dropshot-winner. 15/30. Maria hit a ferocious forehand return, forcing Mattek to hit a forehand wide. 15/40. Mattek dumped a forehand into the net.
Maria serving 4-2: Maria came to the net and hit a crosscourt forehand drive-volley winner. 15/0. Mattek induced Maria to hit a forehand long. 15/15. After a long baseline-rally, Mattek sprayed a wild forehand very long. 30/15. Mattek forced Maria to hit a backhand long. 30/30. Maria forehand just long. 30/40. Serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner back behind Mattek. 40/40. Maria came to the net and had to hit three smashes before one of them was a winner. Ad Maria. Virtual ace down the middle.
Sam Smith said Maria's biggest weakness on clay was moving to her forehand, because when she's out of position she finds it very difficult to recover, and that better claycourt-players than Mattek would exploit this more often.
Mattek serving 2-5: Maria played a well-controlled spreading rally, forcing Mattek to hit a backhand just long. 0/15. Maria hit a blazing off-forehand return-winner just inside the sideline. 0/30. Maria went for a big crosscourt forehand return, and it was wide. 15/30. Mattek came to the net, and pushed a forehand volley down the line that forced Maria to hit a backhand wide. 30/30. Mattek netted a silly dropshot from the baseline. 30/40 (MP #1). Maria hit a backhand return-winner down the line to win 6-2 3-6 6-2 at 13:49 (third set 39m; match 17h22m gross, 2h04m net).
Mark Petchey: "She's got the 'W', but it doesn't so much stand for 'win' as 'work to be done'."
Sam Smith: "Someone's going to have to break Maria down mentally to beat her here."
Sadly, I could foresee Dinara Safina doing just that in the fourth round, just as she did at the French Open 2006.
Maria got 65% of first serves in, winning 62% of the points when she did so, and 41% on second serve. Those are mediocre percentages, but Mattek's were even worse: 67%, 50% and 39%. Maria's percentages were fairly consistent throughout the match, whereas Mattek's were way up for the second set and way down for the third.
Maria served 4 aces but 10 double faults, Mattek one ace and 5 double faults.
Maria served much faster than Mattek on average: first serve 106-98 mph, second serve 93-78 mph. Maria also had the faster fastest serve: 116-114 mph.
Maria had a positive W:UE ratio of 45:41, while Mattek was rather less erratic with a W:UE ratio of 40:31 (including a spectacular 22:6 for the second set).
Both players converted 44% of their break-points, but Maria had almost twice as many: she broke 7 times from 16 BPs, Mattek 4 times from 9 BPs. Maria won the first and third sets each by 3 breaks to 1, while Mattek won the second by 2 breaks to 1.
Maria won 11 of 19 points at the net, while Mattek was more selective with a higher success-rate: she won 8 of 11 points at the net. 80% of the net-play by both players took place after the first set.
In points, Maria won 91-77 (first set 33-23, second set 28-35, third set 30-19).
Source: www.rolandgarros.com
Q: Just talk about it. I mean: yesterday was a tough day, but today weather was a little better and you found some rhythm in the third set.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah. It's just kind of been a strange tournament so far, from the first round, playing in very difficult conditions to a long wait yesterday.
����������� I actually didn't think I was going to go on, you know, looking at the way the matches were going on our court. And then actually playing and, you know, playing quite well yesterday.
����������� The conditions were heavier. The last time we played in Charleston, everything was a lot and kind of got on a roll and played really well.
����������� Yesterday, you know, the points were obviously a lot longer than in our previous meeting. I felt like, you know, I had to hit a few more to win the point, and I did a good job of that.
����������� Then today I woke up, and you feel like you're playing a different match in a another tournament, in a way. It's been kind of strange, but the good thing is I still have a match ahead of me.
Q: What did you and Mike [Joyce] and your dad talk about after the first round, just looking ahead about things you had to do to get the form where you want it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Apart from the bad conditions and taking all those factors away, I personally didn't think that I was playing my game and doing, you know, the things that I do well and stepping in and hitting the ball.
����������� I was just playing very tentative tennis. Obviously, you know, the conditions didn't help, and, you know, the wind and everything else. The more unforced errors you get, then you start thinking, "Why am I making unforced errors?"
����������� And then you get more tentative, and it was just really important for me to take these matches as, you know, as practice and really learn from them. You just got to take care of business and take care of your side of the net.
Q: I don't know if you talked about this in the beginning of the press-conference, but just the late start last night. Were you asked about whether or not you wanted to go on the court? Were you happy/unhappy with going on so late when it looked like you probably wouldn't finish the match?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, looking at the way the matches were going on Suzanne Lenglen, I really didn't think we were going to go on. Because if it was past 8:00, there wouldn't be a chance.
����������� But then like 7:15, we looked at the score on Philippe Chartrier; they said if that match finishes faster than the match that was supposed to play after, then we'd go on that court.
����������� So it was, you know - it's actually - I don't know if that's the first time or the second time that I've had to stop a match and then play the next day, so I guess it's good for the experience-factor.
Q: Back to the photo-shoot. I know you came to a resolution with that, but why did you decide to go public with that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why?
Q: Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You know, just a few things. One was it was just a combination of the few different things, and not just the photo-shoot. But I just felt like the players and I have been in numerous amounts of meetings throughout the years.
����������� Sometimes you come back to the same issues and the same points, and you feel like you're talking about the same subject. You never feel like you're being heard.
����������� I just think it's, you know, in the Tour's best interest to listen to what every player has to say. Not just top 10, not just the top 50 - everybody.
����������� Obviously everyone has different issues. One has prize-money issues, one has other issues, and, you know, but we're working on it. You know, at the end of the day, it's a partnership.
����������� Without the Tour, we wouldn't be who we are, and without the top players, the Tour wouldn't be as successful. So it's important that we, you know, cooperate with each other and we work together, and... yeah.
Q: You felt like you couldn't resolve it in-house; you really needed to take it outside?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I really wanted to see what my fans thought. I really did. It's important. That's the beauty of a website: is the people that go to it are supporters of yours, and want to - you know, have been fans of yours since a long time. You know, you want to know what they think.
Q: Just talking about imposing your game, given that this tournament is all about conditions and change in conditions, the weather is probably going to be lousy in days to come. Is it all about adjustments for you now, or do you think you can go out there and say, "All right, this is my base-game. I've got to play this base-game regardless of whether it's raining or snowing or..."
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, absolutely. To be honest, I just want to go out and play my game. It's as simple as that. And sometimes you just - you get caught up in thinking that you want to do something more, something extra, and something special that sometimes is out of your hands.
����������� You know, especially on a surface that's more challenging to you, you know, that where you're going to have to hit more balls and you're going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball.
����������� You have to be more patient. I'm definitely getting better at that, and I'm getting smarter out there. But sometimes you want to go back to the roots, you know? You just want to drive the ball, and that's just not enough at times.
����������� And, you know, but meanwhile it's... look, I'm not a clay-court specialist that's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back. I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best. But I'm also going to play - I'm also going to play patiently if I want to win matches, especially against, you know, physically-challenging players that do, you know, hit 10 balls back.
����������� But I also have to realise, you know, their game is a lot more physical than I am. If I feel tired then they're feeling 20 times more tired, because they're the one doing all the running.
Q: One thing that might please you: in the last year on clay, you've won a lot of marathons. I know you don't like to play the marathons, but you've had a number of three-set matches.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: For some reason, they're all here. <laughing>
����������� I don't know. I don't know why.
Q: But Rome, too. And you won some long ones in Amelia, too, right?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Probably Rome, because I usually never play those tournaments.
����������� But, yeah, that's clay for you. It's because sometimes you're not... you're not always going to hold serve. You're going to break more than you usually break, because, I mean, look: last year I was serving 85 miles per hour and I got to the semi-finals.
����������� It was like a miracle and its own self. I mean, I'm not going to get away with that. It's a combination of things, you know. Like I want to do the right things, but also I have to be patient.
����������� Sometimes it's definitely not going to be as easy as, you know, maybe on grass or hardcourts for me. But, you know, like I say, that's the beauty of it.
Q: When you win Wimbledon at a young age, it forces you to be scrutinised and sort of grow up in the public eye.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uh-huh.
Q: You have to sort of deal with that, embrace that.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Right.
Q: And I'm just wondering if you think sometimes that you wish you could, you know, live your life a little bit, make your mistakes, do whatever it is you do...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I still make numerous amounts of mistakes.
Q: Right. We all do, right?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Exactly. Except mine are visible in front of millions of people, <laughter> and yours are in front of your parents, you know.
Q: Do you feel at 21 now that you're able to sort of ride those ups and downs and the mistakes maybe better than when you were 17 or 18? Can you talk a little bit about that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, absolutely. The more experience and the older you get - and I hate to say this because I am only 21 years old - but when you're 17, when you're 16, things just take you by surprise. They come to you.
����������� I mean, the things that I experienced after, the morning after I won Wimbledon, it's just - you just wake up and you just feel it. You feel it. You go out your door and a van is following you. Was I ready for that? I mean, it teaches you. That's not something you learn.
����������� It comes with it. I think the most important thing is obviously, you know, realising how you got there and what it took, and, you know, how much you sacrificed in your life to know that you didn't really get to that point, you know, being given everything by others.
����������� You worked at it and you worked hard at it, and then when you're successful and when you have all these things coming to you, you also have to - you also have to have a lot of your own moments where you're sort of in your own self and thinking, prioritising what's important to you.
Q: Just now that you're 21, what might seem like big deal or overwhelming at 17 [that] doesn't as much anymore?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: So many things, I think. The expectations... I mean, after I won Wimbledon, I felt like there are so many expectations from me. That really took me by surprise, because it was like if you won a Grand Slam at 17, all of a sudden I thought everybody thought I should be winning a Grand Slam every single year, and all [of] them.
����������� That was kind of absurd to me, you know. And now I don't... now I deal with expectations fine. I don't really care about them. You know, I have the confidence in my own self to know what, you know, I do well. I know my own faults, and I'm not scared of them.
����������� I try to improve them, and, you know - but there are still - every single day I still get surprised by many things, believe it or not.
Friday finish for Sharapova match [CEEFAX 493] (Thursday 29th May)
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World number-one Maria Sharapova will have to wait to finish her French Open second-round match against Bethanie Mattek after darkness stopped play.
The top seed's match with the American started late on Thursday night on the centre court at Roland Garros.
Sharapova looked set to finish the job quickly when she won the first set 6-2, but Mattek improved and led 3-2 in the second set before play was stopped.
The match will resume on Friday, and is scheduled as second on centre court.
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Below-par Sharapova wins through [CEEFAX 490->493] (Friday 30th May)
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World number-one Maria Sharapova made hard work of her second-round match against American qualifier Bethanie Mattek before winning 6-2 3-6 6-2.
Sharapova had begun her match on Thursday night, and won the first set before darkness stopped play.
Mattek was in confident mood when play resumed on Friday morning, and hit back to take the second set.
The error-prone Russian could not get her serve going, but broke Mattek three times in the decider to seal her win.
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Sharapova battles through [Teletext 497]
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Top seed Maria Sharapova needed three sets before seeing of Bethanie Mattek in the second round at Roland Garros.
The Russian was a set up when her match was suspended on Thursday due to bad light, but resuming a break down in the second [sic], she lost the set before winning the decider for a 6-2 3-6 6-2.
The world No.1 said: "I'm not a clay-court specialist. I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best."
The new world No.1 will meet Italy's Karin Knapp, seeded 32nd, for a place in the last 16.
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Sharapova content with Mattek win [CEEFAX 490->493]
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Top seed Maria Sharapova vowed not to change her ways after struggling to a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win over Bethanie Mattek to reach round three of the French Open.
"I'm not a clay-court specialist that's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back," said the world number-one.
"I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best.
"I'm also going to play patiently if I want to win matches, especially against physically challenging players."
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Serena heading home after French Open shocker
by Allan Kelly (AFP)
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Fifth seed Serena Williams crashed out of the French Open on Friday, losing a third-round tie 6-4 6-4 to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.
She was the major casualty in the women's tournament early on Friday as the top two seeds - Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic - both progressed. The former reached the third round, and the latter moved into the last 16.
Sharapova, seeking to complete her career sweep of Grand Slam titles in Paris, struggled badly for the second straight round before scraping past lowly-ranked Bethanie Mattek of the United States 6-2 3-6 6-2 in a match held over from late Thursday.
Sharapova had spent the night one set ahead, but a break [sic] down 2-3 in the second against Mattek, who is better known as a doubles-player. The American duly levelled the score at one set all when they got back on court.
The world No.1 moved into a 3-0 lead in the decider, but once again her serve let her down badly, allowing Mattek to get back into the reckoning.
But from 3-2 up, Sharapova opened up with her groundstrokes and blasted a way past the outgunned American.
She will now face Italian Karin Knapp for a place in the last 16.
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Serena Williams upset at French Open (PA SportsTicker)
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There was no upset for top seed Maria Sharapova and No.2 Ana Ivanovic, who moved through to the fourth round with limited drama.
In the continuation of a second-round match suspended on Thursday, Sharapova battled past American Bethanie Mattek: 6-2 3-6 6-2.
Sharapova, who needed to play an 8-6 third set to clinch her opening-round match against Evgeniya Rodina, continued to struggled with her serve, suffering 10 double faults. The Russian, who committed 17 double faults against Rodina, will next face Italy's Karin Knapp.
"It's been a strange tournament for me so far, from playing in difficult conditions in my first round to the long wait [on Thursday]," said Sharapova, who won her first claycourt-title earlier this year. "Today I woke up and I felt I was playing a different match in a different tournament.
"But I know you have to be patient out there, and I'm definitely getting better at that. I'm getting smarter. I'm not a claycourt-specialist who's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back. I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best."
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Serena felled, Sharapova survives again in Paris (Reuters)
By Pritha Sarkar (editing by Miles Evans)
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Her loss cleared the way for a final-showdown between Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic - the top two seeds, who withstood some fierce resistance on Friday before marching on.
An erratic Ivanovic overcame a slight wobble in the first set before downing Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-1 to reach the fourth round, while Sharapova huffed and puffed her way to a 6-2 3-6 6-2 second-round win over American Bethanie Mattek.
While Ivanovic has so far managed to win all three of her matches in straight sets, the same cannot be said of Sharapova.
If the Russian wants to complete a career Grand Slam by lifting the Roland Garros title, she will have to take a crash-course in how to hit crisp winners after yet another scrappy performance on Friday.
After being two points from defeat in her opening match against fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina, Sharapova again dropped the second set against Mattek, who is more well known for her outlandish outfits than her tennis-pedigree.
However, in a match left hanging in the balance overnight after fading light stopped play, Sharapova regained her poise to make a third-round date with Italian 32nd seed Karin Knapp.
Defending her style of play, which produced a tally of 10 double faults and an astonishing 51 unforced errors, Sharapova said: "I'm not a clay-court specialist... I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best."
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Serena Williams loses at French Open
By Steven Wine: AP Sports Writer
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No.1-seeded Maria Sharapova and No. 2 Ana Ivanovic advanced. In the completion of a second-round match halted in the second set on Thursday because of darkness, Sharapova beat American Bethanie Mattek 6-2 3-6 6-2.
Sharapova won despite 10 double faults, giving her 27 in two matches. She finished with 51 unforced errors as she struggled to find a comfort-level on clay: her least-favourite surface.
The French Open is the only Grand Slam she has yet to win.
"You're going to have to hit more balls, and you're going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball," Sharapova said. "You have to be more patient. I'm definitely getting better at that, and I'm getting smarter out there."
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Nadal and Sharapova survive scares in French Open
by Dave James (AFP)
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French Open drawcards Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova survived French Open scares on Friday, but 2002 women's champion Serena Williams was knocked out in her worst performance in Paris since 1999.
Sharapova, the top women's seed, who is seeking a French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, dropped a set for the second match in a row before seeing off colourful American Bethanie Mattek 6-2 3-6 6-2 to reach the third round.
Sharapova had led her second-round match with Mattek by a set, but a break [sic] down 2-3, when it was called off for the night on Thursday.
The American then levelled before Sharapova overpowered her opponent with her battery of groundstrokes, and Sharapova will now face Italian Karin Knapp for a place in the last 16.
"It's been a strange tournament so far, from the first round, playing in very difficult conditions to a long wait yesterday," said the world number-one.
"Then today I wake up, and you feel like you're playing a different match in a another tournament. It's been kind of strange, but the good thing is I still have a match ahead of me."
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Scrappy Sharapova sticking to her guns (Reuters)
By Miles Evans (editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova was determined to keep playing her own style despite being pushed to a third set for a second straight match in a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win over Bethanie Mattek on Friday.
Sharapova displayed much of the poor timing and inconsistent shot-execution that marred her first-round struggle against Evgeniya Rodina, before finally prevailing over the American after three scrappy sets on Court Philippe Chatrier.
But despite another below-par display, the Russian said she would be sticking to her winning-formula.
"I'm not a clay-court specialist that's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back," said Sharapova, who needs a win here to complete a career Grand Slam.
"I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best. I'm also going to play patiently if I want to win matches, especially against physically challenging players that hit 10 balls back.
"If I feel tired, then they're feeling 20 times more tired, because they're the one doing all the running."
In a match halted late on Thursday evening at 6-2 2-3 to the Russian, Sharapova was broken in game eight of the second, and the world number 106 levelled the match.
But the Australian Open champion broke the Mattek serve three times in the final set, punching a backhand service-return down the line for a winner on her first match-point after two hours and three minutes.
Mattek, more renowned for her garish outfits than her tennis-prowess, said it was a sign her game was improving that she had tested Sharapova after winning only three games in their first two meetings.
"She had double-bagelled me the last time we played, and I wasn't going to let that happen again," Mattek said of their last clash on the clay at Charleston this year.
"I just went out there and did the best I could. She came out with the win and played well in the third."
Sharapova will play Italy's 32nd seed Karin Knapp in the third round.
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Nadal to face 4th consecutive left-hander in Paris
By Howard Fendrich: AP Tennis Writer
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MORE DOUBLES: Maria Sharapova is seeing double at the French Open.
She turned in another 10 double faults, raising her tournament-total to a whopping 27 after only two matches, but managed to pull out a 6-2 3-6 6-2 victory over Bethanie Mattek of the United States in a match suspended by darkness on Thursday night and finished on Friday.
It was considerably more competitive than the last time they met. At a tournament in Charleston, S.C., in April, Sharapova beat Mattek 6-0 6-0.
"I wasn't going to let that happen again," Mattek said. "I remember I called one of my friends, crying."
Sharapova's shaky serving nearly got her in serious trouble while ahead 3-1 in the third set. She double-faulted twice in a row to gift-wrap a break-point, then added a ribbon by pushing a forehand long.
But she wouldn't double-fault again � or lose another game.
There really was only one more test for Sharapova, when she sailed two backhands long and gave Mattek a break-point for a chance to get within 4-3. Delivering when she had to, though, Sharapova hit a 114mph serve to set up a groundstroke-winner that erased the break-point, ended an 11-stroke exchange with a swinging forehand volley, then closed the game with a 105mph service-winner.
"She's still an intimidating player," Mattek acknowledged. "She's still Maria Sharapova, and it's always tough to play against her."
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The Evans Report: Srebotnik, Almagro Make Their Mark
By Richard Evans (Tennis Week)
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Another American lost, but in very different circumstances, and was much happier about the whole thing. Bethanie Mattek from Boca, who has made her name for outlandish attire and other off-court attractions, finally earned the spotlight for something she did on court. She took a set off the World No.1. Her match with Maria Sharapova had been suspended because of darkness at 9:25 pm. on the previous evening just after she had established a 3-1 lead in the second set. Sharpova held serve for 2-3, and then demanded they go home. The umpire wasn't keen, but guess what? The World No.1 had her way, and she was probably right.
But on the resumption today, Mattek continued to play some fine, positive tennis, and held on to her break to take the set. The fact that she eventually went down 6-2 3-6 6-2 was no disgrace.
"I was ready to play against her," said Mattek afterwards. "She had double-bagelled me the last time we played, and I wasn't going to let that happen again. I just went out there and did the best I could."
And she did fine. Mattek hit powerful drives off both flanks during her brief period of ascendancy either side of the overnight hiatus, and also had Sharapova on the run with some clever dropshots. She admitted she had trouble getting to sleep, but picked up on the Philippe Chatrier Centre Court like a true pro, and continued to give the ball a clump. They should be happy with her when she gets back to The Evert Camp in the summer. But, right now, Bethanie is off to England to tackle the grass.
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Ivanovic, Sharapova scratch through
By Matthew Cronin (www.rolandgarros.com)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova also struggled to find her game, but successfully completed her rain-delayed match in a 6-2 3-6 6-2 victory over American Bethanie Mattek.
Sharapova struggled for the second consecutive match, but not as much as he did in her opener against Evgeniya Rodina, when she was nearly knocked out of the tournament in an 8-6 in the third-set win. On Friday against Mattek, she had barely woken up before she had lost the second set, but in the third set, she was able to get her feet set and employ her power-game. While she did not serve well once again, her laser-like groundstrokes and returns were quite effective.
Sharapova is walking a fine line between trying to impose her normal, first-strike game and adjusting to the heavier conations of clay, where she is forced to work the points more. But her mentality is clearly evolving.
"To be honest, I just want to go out and play my game," said Sharapova, who will face Italy's Karin Knapp in the third round. "It's as simple as that. And sometimes you get caught up in thinking that you want to do something more, something extra, and something special that sometimes is out of your hands. Especially on a surface that's more challenging to you, that where you're going to have to hit more balls and you're going to have to move a few extra steps to the ball. You have to be more patient. I'm definitely getting better at that, and I'm getting smarter out there. But sometimes you want to go back to the roots. You just want to drive the ball, and that's just not enough at times. I'm not a clay-court specialist that's going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back. I'm going to stick to my guns and do what I do best. But I'm also going to play patiently if I want to win matches, especially against physically challenging players that do hit 10 balls back."
"But I also have to realise: their game is a lot more physical than I am. If I feel tired, then they're feeling 20 times more tired, because they're the one doing all the running."
The 21-year-old Sharapova won her first clay-court title in April at Amelia Island, reached the quarters of Charleston, where she fell to Serena Williams, and the semi-finals of Rome, which she pulled out of with a calf-injury. Even though at six feet, two inches, she is not the greatest mover on tour, she has been willing to commit to the grind, as she is one of the Tour's greatest fighters.
Last year at Roland Garros, she squeaked out a 10-8 in the third-set victory over Patty Schnyder before falling exhausted to Ivanovic in the semi-finals. While the three-time Grand Slam champion realises that clay will never be her best surface, she is prepared to roll around in the dirt for as long as it takes during the fortnight.
"That's clay for you," she said. "Sometimes you're not always going to hold serve. You're going to break more than you usually break, because, look, last year I was serving 85 miles per hour and I got to the semi-finals. It was like a miracle. I'm not going to get away with that. It's a combination of things. Like I want to do the right things, but also I have to be patient. Sometimes it's definitely not going to be as easy as maybe on grass or hardcourts. But that's the beauty of it."
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Lacklustre Maria Sharapova still skating on thin ice despite making last 16 at Roland Garros
By Oliver Brown (The Daily Telegraph)
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When Maria Sharapova memorably described herself as playing like a "cow on ice" at Roland Garros last year, she was only half-joking.
Stretched to a third set for the second straight match, she marked an unconvincing win over Bethanie Mattek - a player renowned more for her outlandish outfits than her tennis-flair - by extolling the virtues of patience.
Sharapova had caused murmurs of discontent on Court Philippe Chatrier on Thursday night when she implored the umpire to stop play because of bad light, and yesterday the impression was confirmed that her concentration was strained.
Timing returns poorly and executing her shots with a lack of conviction, the Russian reflected: "I'm not a clay-court specialist who is going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline and retrieve balls back. I'm going to play patiently if I want to win matches, especially against physically challenging players who hit 10 balls back. If I feel tired, then they're feeling 20 times more tired, because they're the one doing all the running."
Sharapova has good reason to be approaching this tournament so meticulously, since she needs to win here - a forlorn prospect at this stage - to complete a career Grand Slam.
She has an innocuous-looking draw, standing to face Italy's Karin Knapp in the third round, but there were few indications she would progress much further as Mattek broke Sharapova's serve upon the resumption of play.
It was curious, in one sense, that the Australian Open champion should have struggled so conspicuously. She had already meted out the dreaded double-bagel treatment to Mattek earlier this year with a 6-0 6-0 victory on the green clay of Charleston, but her opponent clearly discovered a fresh resolve. "I wasn't going to let that happen again," the American said.
Sharapova, should she harbour grander ambitions, cannot afford to let many of these performances happen again.
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I just hope that Maria doesn't get drawn into any kind of marathon with Karin Knapp (assuming that the seedings hold), since she'll be playing her third- and fourth-round matches back to back on Saturday and Sunday.
Knapp was runner-up at Antwerp in February, beating Patty Schnyder and Li,Na before being outclassed by Justine Henin in the final. But she hasn't done much since, and came into the French Open on a 5-match losing-streak.
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2301
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MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS)[1] vs. KARIN KNAPP (ITA)[32] - First meeting
These two lie at the opposite end of the seeding-spectrum, but Sharapova is never one to take her opponents lightly � and given her error-ridden travails so far this week, she'll no doubt approach Knapp with meticulous due diligence.
Indeed, unlike her more illustrious opponent, the 20-year-old Italian has made the appointment without the loss of a set, registering handy wins over Martina M�ller and Olivia S�nchez to emulate the third-round finish she made on her d�but here a year ago.
While that run included wins over Victoria Azarenka and Alyona Bondarenko, a notable breakthrough came at Antwerp last February, where she upset Patty Schnyder and Li,Na to reach the final against Justine Henin.
Until this week, hard-hitting Knapp's European claycourt-season had been disappointing - capped off by withdrawal from Strasbourg with a sore left foot. She might be considered a key player in the future of Italian tennis, but she'll need to make all the right moves � and then some � to have a shot at victory over the Russian today.
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Nick Bollettieri's preview
http://nickstennispicks.com/
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The longer Sharapova is able to hang around on the clay, the more dangerous she becomes. With Serena [Williams] now gone from the draw, the tournament-favourite is going to be Sharapova, and you know she wants to complete the career Grand Slam very badly.
Knapp is a 20-year old Italian, who is familiar with the dirt. She is currently ranked #38 in the world, and in her only previous appearance at Roland Garros, she reached the third round as well.
Match-Up:
These two girls have never faced before this match. This match is Sharapova's to lose. We all know that clay isn't her best surface, but she is still pretty dang good on it! She will control the court throughout the match, hitting big (consistent) serves, excellent groundstrokes, and will look to attack the Knapp serve whenever possible. For Knapp to win, she is going to have to keep Sharapova off-balance by hitting dropshots, angled shots, slices, and more. She definitely cannot beat the Russian from the baseline. I am going with Sharapova here.
Nick's Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets.
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+ MARIA SHARAPOVA [1,EF] d. KARIN KNAPP [32], 7-6 (7/4) 6-0
The commentators suggested before the match that Knapp was a tricky opponent, and "will we have another upset today, in the shape of Maria Sharapova?"
It certainly seemed possible in the first set, as Knapp played very well, with big serves and huge groundstrokes. But Maria responded to the challenge, raising her game to a much higher level than in her first two rounds. This was only just enough to take the first set, but Knapp seemed to take a nap after that, as Maria stormed through the second set at the level she found by the end of the first.
After this performance, I'm feeling a little better about Maria's chances against Dinara Safina in the fourth round. Maria is still serving plenty of double faults, and could be tired after playing so much tennis four days in a row, but at least she got this done in straight sets and showed much better form.
SHARA * * *@* *T 7(7) KNAPP * * * *@* 6(4)
The match was second on Court Chatrier, and started at 12:36 CEST.
David Ornstein (BBC Sport): "Next up on Court Philippe Chatrier... world number-one Maria Sharapova. This is Sharapova's fourth consecutive day on court. She was almost sent packing from Roland Garros on Wednesday when fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina wasted three break-points at 4-3 in the deciding set. Let's not beat around the bush: Sharapova has looked anything like a potential French Open champion thus far, and she could be set for a tough ride against little-known Italian Karin Knapp.
����������� "The umpire has just tossed the coin. It looked to me as though Sharapova called correctly, and she appeared to offer Knapp the chance to serve first.
����������� "The players are warming up. Sharapova is decked in the navy blue outfit she has been wearing all tournament, and Knapp a pink and white number. The Italian looks a tad nervous."
Knapp serving 0-0: Maria forehand return wide. 15/0. Maria's backhand return clipped the netcord and dribbled over for a winner. 15/15. Service-winner. 30/15. Knapp's serve forced a short return, but she hit a forehand wide. 30/30. Service-winner. 40/30. Maria bunted back a weak return, and Knapp netted a forehand. 40/40. Maria's backhand hit the baseline IMO, but was called long. Ad Knapp. A longish rally ended with Knapp hitting a crosscourt backhand winner.
Maria didn't return well there, and I get the impression Knapp is nervous. She served well, but made some cheap groundstroke-errors: particularly on the third strokes of the rallies.
David Ornstein: "The first thing to become apparent is the power Knapp packs into her serve. Shara is standing a couple of feet behind the baseline on her opponent's first serve, and twice goes long with her return as Knapp moves to 40/30. At the end of an error-strewn game, Knapp plays a backhand crosscourt winner to take a 1-0 lead.
����������� "Now the Sharapova serve. She sent down 17 double faults against Rodina, and her problems continued against Beth Mattek before she prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-2."
Maria serving 0-1: Maria opened up the court with a crosscourt forehand, and hit a pinpoint forehand winner down the line. 15/0. Maria opened up the court, hit a pinpoint crosscourt backhand winner just inside the sideline, and said "c'mon". 30/0. Serve forced a short return, which Maria dispatched with an easy off-forehand winner. 40/0. Double fault #1 (#28 of the tournament). 40/15. Knapp played a good spreading rally with a forehand winner down the line. 40/30. Double fault #2 (second serve into the net). 40/40. Maria backhand long. Ad Knapp (BP). Knapp hit a forehand long, and Maria shouted "c'mon". Deuce #2. Knapp slapped a wild forehand return into the net. Ad Maria. Service-winner.
Well, at 40/0 I was about to write "So far so good. Good serves and spreading rallies." But then two double faults and a break-point, so she did well just to come through that game. Her toss is too far out in front, especially on the second serve.
Sam Smith: "Knapp has an excellent backhand, which sets up the forehand for her. She's got a big game when she puts it together."
David Ornstein: "Some lovely groundstrokes take the 21-year-old top seed to 40/0, but then comes her 28th double fault of the tournament. Knapp, a straight-sets winner in round one and two, has Shara chasing side to side, and then another double brings her to deuce.
����������� "Knapp's powerhouse of a backhand and fairly decent forehand force an advantage when Shara goes long. Points are exchanged until Shara forced her way through when Knapp does a Shara and goes long for the first time today."
Knapp serving 1-1: Maria forehand return wide. 15/0. Maria forehand return just long. 30/0. Maria netted a forehand return off an accurate first serve out wide. 40/0. Serve + crosscourt forehand winner.
A much more positive start for Knapp than for Maria. If "Knapp" were an English name, the 'K' would be silent, but in Italian, every letter is pronounced.
David Ornstein: "Wow. You won't see a more comprehensive love service-game than that. To be fair, if you're reading this, you probably won't be watching at all. But you get the gist.
����������� "Knapp, a 20-year-old from Lutago, made her Grand Slam d�but at the 2007 French Open, and she is marking the one-year anniversary with an impressive start against the most daunting opponent (rankings-wise) on the Tour."
Maria doesn't like these cold, heavy conditions. She likes it hot, so that the ball flies through the air quicker.
Maria serving 1-2: Double fault #3 (second serve just long). 0/15. Knapp netted a backhand. 15/15. Maria came to the net, inducing Knapp to net a backhand. 30/15. Knapp hit a deep crosscourt backhand return, forcing Maria into error - off a pretty good serve too. Knapp is a tall girl with wide reach. 30/30. Knapp forehand long. 40/30. Maria netted a backhand after a crosscourt-backhand drill. 40/40. Knapp sprayed a backhand long. Ad Maria. She hit a forehand pass-winner down the line.
Another tough service-game, but no breaks so far.
David Ornstein: "I'm a massive Sharapova fan, but I must confess it is Knapp who is playing all the tennis so far. A third Sharapova double fault sends Knapp 0/15, and the world number-one only keeps in touch by default, as Knapp spoils her winners with a series of unforced errors.
����������� "In fairness to Shara, she closes out with a lovely forehand pass down the line."
Knapp serving 2-2: Maria hit a crosscourt forehand onto the sideline, inducing Knapp to net a forehand. 0/15. Serve out wide + cracking backhand winner down the line: just inside the sideline. 15/15. Knapp's penetrating crosscourt forehand forced Maria into error. 30/15. Double fault (second serve into the net). 30/30. Second serve: Maria hit a makeable forehand return long. 40/30. Maria came to the net, hit a forehand drop-volley winner, and shouted "c'mon". Sam Smith: "Sometimes she looks like she doesn't understand where to move after the approach, so that'll please Yuri." 40/40. Service-winner out wide, right in the corner. Ad Knapp. Maria forced Knapp to retreat to the baseline and hoist a defensive lob, which Maria dispatched with a forehand smash-winner. Sam Smith: "She hasn't been too keen on the old overhead in this tournament." Deuce #2. Knapp on the third stroke sprayed a forehand long. Ad Maria (BP). Serve + forehand into Maria's forehand-corner forced her to hit a forehand lob wide. Deuce #3. Maria forehand return just long. Ad Knapp. On the third stroke, she netted a forehand. Sam Smith: "Sometimes her footwork is an issue - doesn't make all the little steps that Maria does." Deuce #4. Knapp gave Maria the runaround with powerful groundstrokes, her crosscourt backhand forcing Maria to dump a backhand into the bottom of the net. Ad Knapp. She ran down a dropshot but netted a forehand. Deuce #5. Maria ran down a dropshot and netted a forehand. Ad Knapp. Maria backhand return just long.
Sam Smith said there's a legion of new talent in women's tennis, and Knapp is one of the most naturally talented, but she is taking longer to develop because she has many shots to choose from.
David Ornstein: "Knapp keeps her calm after going 0/15 down, and her devilish backhand brings up 30/15. The Italian isn't initially made to pay for her first double fault of the match, because Sharapova again goes long, but then the Russia plays a cute drop-shot to earn deuce.
����������� "Knapp kicks her serve wide enough that Shara fails to beat the net, but it is the latter who comes out on top from the rally of the match, and Knapp then goes long to hand her break-point. Knapp brings out the big forehand to save her bacon and, after several points are exchanged, Shara AGAIN goes long, and Knapp keeps her nose in front."
Sam Smith: "Knapp certainly hasn't gone out there with her autograph-book today; there's a feeling in the locker-room that anybody can beat anybody at this year's championships. It's not really what the top players want to hear."
Maria serving 2-3: Knapp backhand just long. 15/0. Ace out wide: on the service-line and just inside the sideline. 30/0. Maria forced a short ball and hit an off-forehand winner. 40/0. Knapp forehand return just long.
Now it's Maria holding serve easily while Knapp's service-games are long and deucy.
David Ornstein: "Shara storms through. Either Knapp took her foot off the gas for one game, or Shara is beginning to find her touch. Game seven, as is so often the case, could be a humdinger."
Knapp serving 3-3: Service-winner out wide. 15/0. Maria netted a makeable backhand return off a serve onto the service-line. 30/0. After forcing a short ball with hard groundstrokes, Maria drew Knapp to the net with a backhand dropshot and tried to hit a backhand lob-volley over her, but the tall Knapp hit a forehand smash-winner onto the sideline. 40/0. Knapp wrong-footed Maria, forcing her to improvise with a left-handed forehand floater, but Knapp hit a wild forehand drive-volley wide. 40/15. Knapp backhand long. 40/30. Maria blasted a huge off-forehand winner just inside the sideline. 40/40. A good serve forced a short return, which Knapp dispatched with a crosscourt backhand winner. Ad Knapp. Maria forced a short ball, hit an off-forehand winner and said "c'mon". Deuce #2. Double fault (second serve just long). Ad Maria (BP). Ace down the middle: on the centre-line and caught the outside edge of the service-line - it was actually called a fault, but the umpire checked the mark and overruled it as good without ordering a replay. Deuce #3. Maria's penetrating crosscourt forehand return forced Knapp to hit a forehand wide. Ad Maria (BP #2). Maria hit a fabulous crosscourt forehand on the run, forcing Knapp to net a forehand and give Maria the break.
David Ornstein: "And a humdinger it was. Knapp raced to 40/0 before a moment of improvisation - Shara was beaten but stuck out her racket on the backhand side and Knapp then volleyed the return wide - turned the game on its head. Unforced errors and brute force earned Shara deuce before Knapp double-faulted.
����������� "Would Shara capitalise this time? Absolutely. Knapp saved one break-point, but was well and truly beaten second time around as Shara's forcehand proved too powerful. P.S. I wrote "forcehand" on purpose. Not funny, I know!"
Now Knapp has to deal not only with being a break down, but the baggage of dropping serve from 40/0 up with 4 game-points in total. A major psychological blow.
Maria serving 4-3 (new balls): Maria hit a pinpoint backhand winner down the line. 15/0. Service-winner out wide, but Knapp took that return too early for her ability to control it. 30/0. Knapp hit a huge crosscourt forehand winner just inside the sideline. 30/15. Knapp dumped a forehand halfway up the net, and emitted a loud groan. 40/15. Knapp came to the net, hit a forehand smash, and watched Maria's forehand pass fly just long. 40/30. Maria mishit a forehand very long. 40/40. Double fault (second serve just long/wide). Ad Knapp (BP). Maria came to the net and hit an easy forehand smash-winner. Deuce #2. Knapp netted a forehand return. Ad Maria. She played a good spreading rally with a short-angled crosscourt backhand winner into the open court.
Sam Smith said Knapp seems too disappointed with herself now, and needs to make some better decisions and fewer unforced errors.
Sam Smith: "When you are 40/0 up in a game, you cannot make unforced errors, especially against Sharapova. Knapp will have learned a lesson then. Mentally, Knapp is not in Sharapova's league yet. I think she is a late developer in many respects."
David Ornstein: "Today, Sharapova has reminded me of a dormant volcano. No sign of activity for so long, albeit bubbling under the surface, and then exploding into life. Knapp's inexperience shines through as she leaves an overhead that drops in to send Shara to 40/15.
����������� "But credit where credit is due. Knapp battles back to deuce, and then all of a sudden has a break-point: her first of the match. The Australian Open champion is not going to keel over that easily, however, and literally batters her way to the game. A fine finish from a fine player."
Knapp serving 3-5: Double fault (second serve into the net). 0/15. Maria backhand wide. 15/15. Maria came to the net, but a testing pass forced her to net a backhand volley - but it was only testing because Maria wasn't in the right position to hit that second volley. 30/15. Service-winner. 40/15. Service-winner.
David Ornstein: "It would be untrue to say Sharapova really turned up the heat, but it was still a pressure-game for Knapp... and she came through to 15. Cool, calm and collected as they say.
����������� "Knapp is ranked 38 in the world and seeded 32. What she lacks is experience, and she is clearly gaining bag-loads this afternoon."
Maria serving 5-4: Maria backhand just wide. 0/15. Maria forehand wide. 0/30. Double fault #5 (second serve into the net). 0/40. Maria saved it with a serve + deep error-forcing forehand just inside the baseline. 15/40. Excellent first serve out wide forced Knapp to bunt a forehand lob-return wide. 30/40. Double fault #6 (second serve very long).
Just when she's serving for it, she throws in her worst service-game of the match so far, gift-wrapped with a double fault.
David Ornstein: "Well, well, well. Knapp races to 40/0 up on the Shara serve. Shara's grunting suggests she really, really wants to close out the set in this game. But after working her way back to 30/40, she double-faults and we're back on level terms. Break-back time."
Knapp serving 5-5: Service-winner. 15/0. Maria came to the net and hit a crosscourt forehand drive-volley winner that caught the outside edge of the baseline. 15/15. Knapp hit a huge crosscourt forehand winner. 30/15. Maria hit a thunderbolt of a short-angled crosscourt forehand winner just inside the sideline. Sam Smith: "When you take it early, it gives you options." 30/30. Excellent wide serve, just inside the sideline, forced Maria to net a forehand return. 40/30. Knapp netted a forehand. 40/40. Maria hit a fierce crosscourt backhand winner back behind Knapp. Ad Maria (BP). Maria hit a crosscourt forehand just wide. Deuce #2. Serve + big crosscourt backhand winner just inside the sideline. Ad Knapp. She came to the net, forcing Maria to net a backhand.
I have to say: the quality of play is just stunning at the moment, with bullets coming off both their rackets. Maria's playing much better now than in her first two matches, and she's still down in this one. But if she can pull this out in two sets, it might be just what she needs to prepare her for Safina.
Sam Smith: "You've got to hand it to Knapp: Sharapova is having to play this well. The very thought of being in another third set is driving her on here."
David Ornstein: "I don't think the world number-one takes lightly to being broken when serving for the set, do you?! But for all Shara's power and vocal exclamation, Knapp's sumptuous groundstrokes prove more than a match. Knapp kicks a serve wide to hand her game-point, but Shara digs in and a thunderous crosscourt backhand brings up break-point.
����������� "Shara goes wide, and then that backhand and Shara finding the net puts the Italian a break away from the first set."
Maria serving 5-6: Maria forehand just wide. 0/15. Maria played a fierce spreading rally, forcing Knapp to net a backhand. 15/15. Maria went for a blazing crosscourt backhand winner onto the sideline, but it was just wide. 15/30. Second serve: Knapp netted a forehand return. 30/30. Knapp went for a backhand winner down the line, but it was just wide. 40/30. Maria hit a defensive backhand long. 40/40. Knapp backhand return long. Ad Maria. Knapp backhand long.
David Ornstein: "Knapp takes the first point to get the crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier humming with excitement. A marathon rally ends with Shara netting to fall 15/30 behind. But it's the unforced errors that are plaguing Knapp, and after finding the net, she then plays her backhand wide.
����������� "Knapp continues to ooze confidence, though, and at times Shara is hanging on by a thread. But it is such margins that separate the great from the good, and Knapp twice goes long to gift Shara the game."
Sam Smith: "It's been a very competitive set - that's what has impressed me most. There have been quite a few unforced errors - 15 from Sharapova, 17 from Knapp - but the Italian is doing well."
6-6 tiebreak (all scores Sharapova/Knapp):
{0/0*} Knapp serve + crosscourt backhand winner onto the sideline.
{*0/1} Knapp netted a backhand return.
{*1/1} Knapp pushed Maria into the sidelines with a crosscourt forehand, and hit an easy crosscourt backhand winner into the open court.
{1/2*} Knapp double fault (second serve long).
{2/2*} Maria hit a thunderous down-the-line backhand winner right in the corner, and now it's her with the mini-break.
{*3/2} Knapp netted a forehand.
{*4/2} Knapp netted another forehand - four points in a row to Maria.
{5/2*} Knapp's crosscourt backhand clipped the netcord and hit the sideline for a very lucky winner (the umpire checked the mark).
{5/3*} Knapp serve out wide + forehand winner down the middle - Maria thought the serve was wide.
{*5/4} Maria service-winner out wide.
{*6/4: SP #1} Maria hit a hard crosscourt backhand winner back behind Knapp to win the first set 7-6 (7/4) at 13:58 (1h22m).
David Ornstein: "It looked as though Sharapova could have been about to concede her third set in as many matches when the Russian (with an amazing American accent) conceded a mini-break to fall 1/2* behind.
����������� "But she broke straight back, and then pretty much cruised through the rest of the tiebreak, wrapping up the set with a trademark crosscourt backhand. Cue screams of delight from the young lady in navy blue."
Sam Smith: "A labourious first set for Sharapova. Lots of creativity from Knapp, but too many unforced errors (23). She got the mix right between being aggressive and making errors, but she made them at the wrong times."
Maria in her first two matches won the first set easily and then dropped the second as her opponents dragged her down to their level and then had a go at her, but I think it should be different this time, because Knapp has played Maria into form, and it's very tiring mentally to lose a first set on a tiebreak.
SHARA *@*@*@ 6 KNAPP 0
Maria serving 0-0: First serve out wide: Knapp crosscourt forehand return-winner. 0/15. Knapp forehand wide. 15/15. Second serve + off-backhand winner just inside the sideline. 30/15. Knapp backhand return just long. 40/15. Maria forehand long. 40/30. Maria on the third stroke hit an aggressive crosscourt forehand just wide. 40/40. Serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner just inside the sideline. Ad Maria. Second serve: Knapp backhand return wide.
David Ornstein: "The clay has been swept clean, and it looks a lot smoother than Sharapova's game. The top seed looks comfortable to 40/15, but lets Knapp back in for deuce. A more experienced opponent would then have yanked up the pressure, but Knapp allowed Shara to stumble through."
Knapp serving 0-1: Double fault (second serve into the net). 0/15. Service-winner out wide. 15/15. Maria netted a backhand return. 30/15. Service-winner out wide. 40/15. After a rally, Knapp dumped a backhand halfway up the net. 40/30. Knapp forehand just wide. 40/40. Maria hit an aggressive backhand return just wide. Ad Knapp. Maria's crosscourt backhand forced Knapp to net a backhand. Deuce #2. Maria went for a down-the-line forehand return-winner, but it was just wide. Ad Knapp. Big return + off-forehand winner. Deuce #3. Service-winner. Ad Knapp. She forced a short ball but hit a forehand long. Deuce #4. Knapp backhand long. Ad Maria (BP). Maria netted a makeable backhand return. Deuce #5. Knapp hit a crosscourt backhand winner back behind Maria. Ad Knapp. Maria came to the net, and hit an off-forehand drop-volley winner off a pretty awkward low pass. Deuce #6. Maria hit a beautiful short-angled crosscourt backhand winner. Ad Maria (BP #2). She broke with a blazing backhand winner down the line.
David Ornstein: "The longest game of the match by some distance shifts from one player to the other so often that members of the crowd are pictured falling asleep. But, fortunately, I was wide awake and saw Knapp drop what may prove to be the pivotal game.
����������� "Knapp hardly had to work her socks off to get to 40/15, but then a 16-shot rally won by Shara shifted the momentum. Shara made deuce and prevented Knapp from converting advantages on far too many occasions for me to remember.
����������� "Shara wasted one break-point before converting the next. Knapp looks to be flagging. This could be done and dusted before long, people."
Maria has won 7 of 9 deuce-games so far.
Maria serving 2-0: Knapp backhand wide, but the umpire checked the mark and overruled it as good. 0/15. Service-winner. 15/15. Service-winner down the middle. 30/15. Double fault #7 (second serve into the net). 30/30. Ace out wide. 40/30. Maria's off-forehand forced Knapp to hit a defensive backhand lob wide.
David Ornstein: "Another patchy Sharapova game sees her fire an ace wide past Knapp's forehand to reach 40/30. She closes out the game to open up a tasty lead.
����������� "Talking of tasty, the relatively small crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier would suggest everyone is at lunch. I'm getting pretty hungry myself, so come on, Maria, hurry up please!"
Maria changed her racket.
Knapp serving 0-3: Maria's crosscourt forehand return forced Knapp to net a forehand. 0/15. Maria hit a piercing crosscourt backhand return to force a short ball, and dispatched it with an easy forehand winner. 0/30. Maria hit a blazing forehand return-winner down the line. 0/40. Maria dispatched another rather weak serve with a blazing backhand winner down the line.
Knapp has been far less aggressive so far this set than she was in the first. Perhaps she is tired like I said she should be.
Maria serving 4-0: Double fault (second serve just long - called by the umpire). 0/15. Quadruple fault (second serve just long). 0/30. Maria's off-forehand forced Knapp to net a backhand. 15/30. Knapp dumped a makeable forehand return halfway up the net. 30/30. Service-winner out wide. 40/30. Knapp hit a makeable backhand return long.
Sam Smith: "That's an awful game from Knapp. Yes, it's the third round of a Grand Slam, but for Knapp, it's simply a great learning-experience. I think she's very conscious now of what's happening."
It's sad to see so many spectators asleep - or as Sam Smith put it, "having a (K)nap(p)"!
David Ornstein: "What happened to the Knapp of the first set? I'm not the first to point out that many of the spectators are now 'having a Knapp', but they'd better wake up soon or they'll miss the finish.
����������� "Knapp is punished for an awful game. She's shrinking into her shell."
Knapp serving 0-5: Maria's hard, deep forehand return forced a floater, which she dispatched with a forehand smash-winner. 0/15. Maria's deep backhand return forced Knapp to earth a forehand. 0/30. Maria came to the net, forcing Knapp to net a backhand. 0/40 (MP #1). A big first serve onto the centre-line forced a defensive forehand lob-return; Knapp let it bounce and maintained her initiative with a crosscourt forehand drive-volley, forcing Maria to hoist a forehand skyscraper-lob... but Knapp slapped a forehand smash into the net. Maria won 7-6 (7/2) 6-0 at 14:34 (second set 36m, match 1h58m).
David Ornstein: "The world number-one confirms her place in round four with a second successive love service-game on the Knapp serve. Knapp bows out of Roland Garros by smashing an overhead into the net. A sad way to finish.
����������� "Shara blows kisses to all four sides, and breaks into something of a smile, but she will have to step up her game markedly if she is to reach the last eight.
����������� "So there we have it: the world number-one and top seed is through to the last 16. Next up is compatriot Dinara Safina with a quarter-final place at stake. The pair have met five times, with Sharapova winning three.
����������� "Shara may not be in title-winning form, and more obdurate opponents stand in her way, but a win is a win, and the 21-year-old will have her sights firmly set on lifting the title to complete a career Grand Slam.
����������� "Au revoir."
Sam Smith: "Knapp isn't really ready for the big stage yet. Sharapova's experience really told out there in the numerous long games that they had. But how she's going to be standing there with the trophy in a week, I do not know."
Both girls had positive W:UE ratios: Maria 46:25, Knapp 44:28.
Maria got 65% of her first serves in, winning 72% of the points when she did so, and 48% on second serve. Knapp got 70% of first serves in, but her winning-percentages were lower than Maria's: 58% on first serve, 35% on second serve. In the second set, Knapp's service-percentages dropped alarmingly to 58%, 33% and 27%.
They served one ace each, and Maria served 9 double faults to Knapp's 5.
Knapp served faster than Maria in all three categories: fastest 116-111 mph, average first serve 106-99 mph, average second serve 90-89 mph.
Maria broke 4 times from 8 BPs (4 in each set, of which she converted 1 in the first set and 3 in the second), while Knapp broke just once from 5 BPs (when Maria served for the first set at 5-4).
Maria won an impressive 11 of 13 points at the net, while Knapp only won 4 of 9.
In points, Maria won 88-70 (first set 57-55, second set 31-15).
Source: www.rolandgarros.com
Q: Est-ce que le deuxi�me set compense le premier?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oui, je suis contente de n'avoir pass� que deux heures sur ce court. C'est bien d'avoir r�ussi � gagner en deux sets, sur ce deuxi�me set, j'ai vraiment augment� mon niveau de jeu, je suis devenue beaucoup plus agressive. Je ne lui ai pas renvoy� de balles faciles et lui ai rendu la vie plut�t difficile au deuxi�me set. C'est mon boulot quand je suis sur le court!
Q: Sur une �chelle de 0 � 10, quelle note donneriez-vous pour cette premi�re semaine ici?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Premi�re semaine, pas g�nial! Mais sur ce dernier match, mon deuxi�me set �tait bien meilleur, et mon tennis s'am�liore de match en match. Sur deux semaines, vous savez tr�s bien, quel que soit votre niveau de pr�paration, quelle que soit votre sensation physique, on se retrouve de temps en temps dans des situations comme celle-ci, et quand on joue un Grand Chelem, on ne peut se permettre de sous-estimer une adversaire, quelle qu'elle soit.
����������� J'ai plut�t de la chance d'avoir pass� ces deux derniers matches, parce que je n'ai pas jou� mon meilleur niveau de tennis.
����������� Je suis maintenant l� pour gagner, et j'ai aujourd'hui acc�l�r� mon tennis et augment� mon niveau.
Q: Comment �tes-vous revenue apr�s le premier set?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Je n'en sais rien! Depuis quelques jours, je me sens un petit peu diff�rente, de toute fa�on, c'est comme si Maria m'avait donn� un peu de courage depuis les tribunes! Quelquefois, vous �tes toujours l�, et vous essayez de travailler, de faire ce qu'il y a � faire. C'est vrai qu'au cours des deux derniers matches, je me suis rendu compte que je ne jouais pas mon jeu � moi, que je n'�tais pas suffisamment agressive.
����������� Je me suis dit qu'il fallait absolument que je me reconcentre.
Q: Ceci �tant pris en compte, pensez-vous qu'il est assez juste de dire que pour l'instant, vos matches ont �t� plut�t laborieux? Est-ce que pour vous, c'est un avantage? Cela vous motive-t-il? Avez-vous d�j� connu des circonstances similaires? Avez-vous des exemples dans votre carri�re?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: J'ai v�cu diff�rentes exp�riences, en fonction des diff�rents tournois du Grand Chelem, et ils sont tous diff�rents.
����������� J'en ai gagn� certains, alors que je ne pensais pas avoir jou� mon meilleur tennis, du moins durant la premi�re semaine, puis j'ai augment� mon niveau au bon moment.
����������� De toute fa�on, en bout de course, c'est ce qui est important, non? Comme je vous l'ai dit, vous pouvez mal commencer... Et c'est vrai qu'aujourd'hui, j'ai pass� beaucoup plus de temps que je ne l'aurais souhait� sur le court, mais la terre battue est une surface qui nous oblige � jouer plus de balles.
����������� On sait que c'est plus physique. Mais j'y suis mentalement pr�te. C'est qu'il faut que j'entre sur le court en me disant : "Am�liore ton jeu, am�liore toi!", en esp�rant �tre � chaque fois celle qui va bien s'en sortir.
Q: Cela para�tra peut-�tre une question tr�s nationaliste, tr�s chauvine, mais que pensez-vous des joueuses italiennes? Nous avons eu l'exemple hier contre Venus Williams, aujourd'hui, Knapp qui vous a bien tenu t�te. Pensez-vous qu'elle soit bonne? Qu'avez-vous � dire?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Elle est grande et assez costaud. Elle joue des coups tr�s longs, tr�s profonds. Je ne pense pas en revanche qu'elle bouge tr�s vite. C'est l� que j'ai pu reprendre mes chances. J'�tais plus apte � attaquer � ce niveau-l�. C'est ce qu'il faut faire contre quelqu'un qui n'aime pas vous attaquer. Ce n'�tait pas du tout le m�me style de jeu que les deux autres adversaires que j'ai eu � jouer. C'est pourquoi j'ai fait beaucoup d'erreurs au d�part. Notamment le service. Ensuite, c'est vrai qu'elle s'est d�fait sur son service, mais elle est beaucoup plus jeune que moi, elle a 20 ans. Elle est plus jeune! C'est tout de m�me incroyable �a!
����������� Je me souviens des beaux jours o� j'�tais la plus jeune sur le tournoi!
Q: Cela fait 20 ans qu'une femme a gagn� tous les tournois du Grand Chelem, vous �tes la seule cette ann�e � pouvoir le faire, puisque vous avez gagn� l'Open d'Australie, vous �tes la seule en position de pouvoir le faire cette ann�e. Est-ce pour vous un d�fi � relever?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Tous ceux qui ont gagn� l'Open Australie ont une chance de gagner le Grand Chelem, une chance � condition de gagner les trois autres, puisque l'Open d'Australie est le premier de l'ann�e.
����������� La route est longue, nous ne sommes qu'� la moiti� du deuxi�me tournoi du Grand Chelem, et il en reste encore deux autres apr�s. Je ne sais pas, mais je ne pense pas que cette question soit pour l'instant d'actualit�. Il faudra jouer beaucoup de matches avant d'y arriver!
Q: Revenons au Grand Chelem. Vous avez fait quelques doubles fautes cette semaine sur les courts...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Je me suis am�lior�e aujourd'hui, c'�tait beaucoup mieux, j'�tais plus � l'aise.
����������� Sur le service, en fonction de contre qui je joue, �a aura de l'importance, mais ce qui est �galement important est de bien bouger, de bien se d�placer, en fonction de la joueuse que j'ai face � moi, je vais tenter des services plus ou moins forts.
Q: Etes-vous inqui�te pour votre classement, en tant que num�ro 1?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Inqui�te, pourquoi inqui�te?
Q: Parce que cela ne fait que quelques semaines que Justine H�nin a quitt� le circuit, donc vous �tes num�ro 1, mais il faudra que vous gagniez la finale pour maintenir ce classement. Cela vous inqui�te-t-il?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Ca ne m'inqui�te pas du tout.
Q: Je voulais vous poser une question par rapport � Rome, quand vous avez d�cid� de quitter le tournoi, � cause d'un probl�me � votre jambe. Comment va votre jambe?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Elle fonctionne tr�s bien, beaucoup mieux qu'� Rome, et peut-�tre beaucoup mieux qu'elle ne le devrait! Non, tout va bien.
Q: Maintenant, c'est Safina, il va falloir acc�l�rer et remonter votre niveau de jeu. On se souvient de vos d�faites, il y en a peu contre elle, dans un troisi�me set. Ce sera une occasion de revanche?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Depuis deux semaines, elle joue tr�s bien, elle a remport� de belles victoires, elle fait partie des meilleures joueuses au monde. Elle a confiance et a capitalis� beaucoup de confiance r�cemment. Elle joue sur une surface qui lui va tr�s bien, elle a pratiquement grandi dessus, selon ce que j'ai compris.
����������� Mais la derni�re fois que j'ai jou� contre elle, c'�tait sur terre battue, et c'est un des matches dont je n'ai pas envie de me souvenir! Le prochain match sera une histoire totalement diff�rente, et je vais �videmment devoir relever mon niveau de jeu, jouer un peu mieux.
����������� Ce sera un d�fi, mais un d�fi int�ressant.
Q: Vous nous dites � chaque fois que vous adorez les d�fis, donc pour vous, ce prochain match, ce sera un d�fi, mais une tr�s belle victoire pour vous, sur terre battue, � Roland Garros, contre une adversaire coriace.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: L� vous essayez de me mettre la pression non? C'est tout ce que j'entends dans ce que vous venez de me dire!
Q: Non, simplement relever des d�fis, c'est vrai qu'elle joue tr�s bien. Etes-vous pr�te � relever ce d�fi?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Peu importe qui je vais affronter au prochain tour, ce qui est important, c'est ce que j'apprends de mes matches pr�c�dents, de celui que je viens de gagner, et comment je vais pouvoir relever mon niveau de tennis. Maintenant, comment je vais le jouer contre elle? Tout va d�pendre de moi, j'essaie de ne pas trop me concentrer sur ce qu'elle fait elle, ce qu'il faut c'est que je sois agressive, que je rel�ve mon niveau de jeu et que je ne la laisse pas trop renvoyer de balles, et auquel cas j'aurai bien fait mon boulot!
����������� Bien entendu, le retour, les premi�res balles, les services, tout cela sera tr�s important.
����������� Je vais �galement devoir faire preuve de patience, construire l'�change, et voir comment tout �a se passera.
Q: Maria, revenons au service et � vos doubles fautes. Revenons � votre premi�re victoire � Wimbledon et en Australie, o� votre service �tait tellement important � ce moment-l�. Avez-vous modifi�, travaill� sur votre service, apport� quelque chose qui modifie votre service, ou est-ce uniquement mental?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Ces derniers jours, les conditions n'�taient pas forc�ment tr�s bonnes au niveau du temps, et de plus, c'�taient les premiers tours, ce que j'essayais, c'�tait d'y aller plus que je n'aurais d�... Peut-�tre que j'aurais d� lever le pied, et regarder, �tre plus s�rieuse sur mes pourcentages de premi�res balles de service.
����������� C'est vrai que l�, mes pourcentages n'�taient pas tr�s �lev�s, et au deuxi�me service, vous ne voulez pas laisser votre adversaire, rentrer dans le court, et attaquer la balle vers l'avant du court. Vous voulez pouvoir marquer le point sur votre service.
����������� C'est vrai qu'en tant que joueuse agressive, attaquante, je veux pouvoir marquer des points et ne pas laisser mon adversaire prendre l'avantage sur une deuxi�me balle de service qui est forc�ment plus facile.
����������� Quelquefois, je frappe fort, �a passe, quelquefois �a ne passe pas. Des doubles fautes, j'en ai fait et je continuerai � en faire dans ma carri�re. L'ann�e derni�re, j'ai eu quelques moments un petit peu difficiles, parce que j'avais peur de me refaire mal, de me claquer un muscle. J'avais un peu �a � l'esprit aussi, mais tout va bien.
SHARAPOVA THROUGH TO ROUND FOUR [CEEFAX 490->491]
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Sharapova through to round four [CEEFAX 491]
Maria Sharapova showed improved form as she beat Italy's Karin Knapp in the third round of the French Open.
The Russian top seed had been far from convincing in her opening two matches, with the serve particularly poor.
But after a tight first set, Sharapova enjoyed a 7-6 (7/4) 6-0 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a last-16 clash with Dinara Safina.
Sharapova happy at finding form [CEEFAX 492]
Maria Sharapova admitted she had taken some time to get going in her third-round win over Karin Knapp at the French Open.
"It was like my twin sister was here, and then Maria actually made her flight and made it for the second set.
"I definitely became a lot more aggressive and stepped in, and didn't give her too many easy balls."
And of her double faults, she added: "I've double-faulted numerous amounts of times in my career. It's fine."
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ASSURED SHARAPOVA INTO FOURTH ROUND [Teletext 495->496]
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Sharapova blasts through [Teletext 496]
Top seed Maria Sharapova made it safely through to the last 16 with a straight-sets win over Italian Karin Knapp in the third round at Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old Russian edged a first-set tiebreak 7/4 before dominating the second, romping through 6-0.
Sharapova will play compatriot Dinara Safina for a place in the quarter-finals in Paris after she defeated China's Jie Zheng 6-2 7-5.
Sharapova said: "I feel I've been lucky to get through the first matches, but today was definitely a step up."
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Sharapova through after first-set marathon (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot (editing by Miles Evans)
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World number-one Maria Sharapova rallied after a hard-fought 81-minute opening set to move into the fourth round of the French Open with a 7-6 6-0 victory over Italian Karin Knapp on Saturday.
The Russian top seed needed an hour and 58 minutes to see off the 32nd seed and set up a meeting with compatriot Dinara Safina: a 6-2 7-5 winner over China's Zheng,Jie.
"It feels good to finish it off in two sets. I had to overturn the situation and take my chances," Sharapova said in a courtside interview.
The contest finally turned her way when she broke Knapp in the 13-minute second game of the second set with a backhand winner.
But Sharapova, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, showed she is still struggling to adjust to clay after two mediocre opening matches.
Knapp's resilience first showed signs of breaking in the tiebreak, which Sharapova won 7/4 courtesy of a crosscourt backhand winner after 81 tight minutes.
The Russian, who took over from just-retired Justine Henin at the top of the women's rankings, shrugged off a couple of break-points in the first game of the second set.
She followed up on her opponent's serve, and it took her just 16 more minutes to seal the win, when Knapp - who had won only two matches on clay this season before arriving in Paris - netted an easy smash.
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Sharapova leads Russian charge, Ferrer wins dogfight (Reuters)
By Miles Evans (editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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Maria Sharapova led a trio of Russians into the last 16 of the French Open on Saturday, while a relieved fifth seed David Ferrer was given an unnerving reminder of just how effective Lleyton Hewitt's grit can be.
Top seed Sharapova, so unconvincing in her first two matches this week, looked like she was in for another slog when it took her 81 minutes to clinch the first set on a tiebreak against 32nd seed Karin Knapp.
But Italian Knapp could not emulate the giantkilling feats of compatriot Flavia Pennetta - conqueror of Venus Williams late on Friday - by collapsing 7-6 6-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
"I kind of forgot what it felt like to finish it in two," said Sharapova, a semi-finalist last year.
"I just have to go out there and try to improve and try to get better, and then when it counts, you hope that you're the one that steps up."
Dinara Safina, Sharapova's next opponent, stepped up to the plate to extinguish Asia's faint hopes of a champion with a 6-2 7-5 triumph over China Zheng,Jie.
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Top Seeds Keep Winning; Sharapova, Safina To Clash
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2303
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For the first time in a while, it was a great day for the top seeds at Roland Garros, with top-ten players Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva all moving into the fourth round in straight sets. In fact, most seeds in action advanced.
Sharapova's win was arguably the most grinding, as she had to come back from ahead in that first set - having squandered a 3-5 lead - and eventually closing it out in a tiebreak. After winning a marathon six-deuce game in the second set to go up 2-0, Sharapova cruised, losing just four points the rest of the way - three of those on her own double faults - to close it out.
"I kind of forgot what it felt like to finish a match in two sets, but it's good," said Sharapova, who had been extended to three sets in her first two matches. "It was good quality in that second set. I definitely became more aggressive, stepped in, and didn't give her too many easy balls. I made it difficult for her in the second set. That's my job when I'm out there."
Next up for Sharapova is No.13 seed Dinara Safina, who rallied back from 3-5 down in the second set to defeat Chinese qualifier Zheng,Jie 6-2 7-5. Not only is her countrywoman Safina riding a nine-match win-streak (which includes three top-ten wins), but the two met in the same round here in 2006: Safina won that in three sets, coming back from 1-5 down in the decider.
"She has been playing really well the last couple weeks, and had some really good wins over good, top players," Sharapova said on Safina. "When we played here, that's one match that I don't want to remember. Obviously it will be a new day, and I'm obviously going to have to play better than I have been. It will be a challenge, but it will be a good challenge."
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Sharapova wins
By Howard Fendrich: AP Tennis Writer
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There are five Russian women still around, and, coincidentally, four find themselves in the same quarter of the draw, led by No.1 Maria Sharapova.
She faces No.13 Dinara Safina for a place in the quarter-finals; the winner will meet No.7 Elena Dementieva or No.11 Vera Zvonar�va. All won in straight sets on Saturday, as did No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova - the 2004 US Open champion and 2006 French Open runner-up - who eliminated yet another Russian: No.25 Nadia Petrova.
After stumbling through a pair of three-set victories, accumulating 27 double faults along the way, Sharapova was sharper � for about a set, anyway. Her 7-6(4) 6-0 victory over No.32 Karin Knapp of Italy wasn't without hiccups - including nine more double faults, two of which allowed Knapp to break when Sharapova served for the first set at 5-4.
But Sharapova's serve and other strokes grew sturdier. She hit a high-kicking service-winner to get to set-point in the tiebreak, then smacked a crosscourt backhand to end it, punctuating the winner with a shriek of "Yeah!" That presaged a strong finish.
"It was like my twin sister was here," Sharapova said, "and then Maria actually made her flight, and made it for the second set."
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Sharapova reaches last 16 at French Open (AFP)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova reached the last 16 of the French Open on Saturday by defeating Karin Knapp of Italy 7-6 (7/4) 6-0.
As in the first two rounds, though, it was painful progress for the world No.1, whose power-game and flat-hitting is ill-suited to the rigours of claycourt-tennis.
Knapp, who reached her first WTA final at Antwerp in February, stayed the course in the first set until 3-3 before Sharapova grabbed the first break of the match.
The Russian, though, was misfiring on her own serve, and she allowed Knapp to level the set at 5-5 and then force a tiebreak.
Knapp had an early mini-break in that to lead 2/1, but four points in a row from Sharapova turned the tables, and she was relieved to win it 7/4, smacking a crosscourt backhand winner on set-point.
The world No.1 won a marathon second game of the second set with another backhand winner to break serve and jump out into a 3-0 lead that she never looked like letting slip.
But she will have to add more consistency to her game before going up against compatriot Dinara Safina with a quarter-final place at stake. The pair have met five times, with Sharapova winning three.
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Sharapova leads Russian charge at French Open (AFP)
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Maria Sharapova led a Russian charge into the last 16 at the French Open on Saturday, finally shaking off the poor form that has seen her struggle to live up to her top seeding.
The 21-year-old Russian world No.1 defeated Italy's Karin Knapp 7-6 (7/4) 6-0 with two contrasting sets.
In the first, Sharapova again struggled with her serve and consistency as Knapp came within two points of taking a one-set lead.
But in the second, after breaking serve in a marathon second game, Sharapova visibly relaxed, allowing her to deploy her impressive arsenal of groundstrokes.
Sharapova needed three sets to win in each of her two previous rounds, and in all three games completed so far, she has had to play for over two hours.
She knows, though, that she will have to add more consistency to her game before going up against compatriot Dinara Safina with a quarter-final place at stake. The pair have met five times, with Sharapova winning three.
"I kind of forgot what it felt like to finish in two, even though I still managed to play for two hours out there," she said.
"It was quite scratchy the first two [games], and I spent a lot more time than I would have liked on the court. But that's just the way things go."
Safina made it through to the fourth round in Paris for the third straight year with a 6-2 7-5 win over China's last representative: Zheng,Jie.
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Sharapova through to round four
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7429004.stm
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Maria Sharapova showed improved form as she beat Italy's Karin Knapp in the third round of the French Open.
The Russian top seed had been far from convincing in her opening two matches, with the serve particularly poor.
But after a tight first set, Sharapova enjoyed a 7-6 (7/4) 6-0 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a last-16 clash with Dinara Safina.
Sharapova struggled in the early stages against Knapp, and failed to serve out the set from 5-3, needing a tiebreak to move ahead before dominating the second.
"It was like my twin sister was here, and then Maria actually made her flight and made it for the second set," said Sharapova.
"I definitely became a lot more aggressive and stepped in, and didn't give her too many easy balls."
The Russian made nine double faults, which was at least an improvement on the 17 she made in her first-round match.
"I have double-faulted numerous amounts of times in my career," she said. "Today was an improvement. It is a lot better - felt more comfortable."
She added: "I kind of forgot what it felt like to finish in two sets, even though I still managed to play for two hours out there.
"It was quite scratchy the first two [matches], and I spent a lot more time than I would have liked on the court."
Safina, the 13th seed and a dark horse for the title after some good form recently, saw off Jie Zheng 6-2 7-5.
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Sharapova to meet Safina
By Matthew Cronin (www.rolandgarros.com)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova sweated and strained for the first seven sets of her 2008 Roland Garros campaign, but during the last set of her 7-6 6-0 victory over No.32 seed Karin Knapp of Italy, on-court life looked bright again.
Sharapova's struggles with her serve - and the accuracy and power of her groundstrokes - disappeared after a marathon two opening games of the second set, when she finally wore her foe down mentally. She will need to maintain that level and even up it a few notches in the fourth round, when she will face fellow Russian Dinara Safina, who won a dramatic three-setter over her two years ago in Paris.
"I still managed to play for two hours out there," Sharapova said with a laugh. "I kind of forgot what it felt like to finish it in two, but it's good. It was good quality in that second set. I definitely became a lot more aggressive and stepped in, and didn't give her too many easy balls. I made it quite difficult for her in the second set, so that's my job."
Sharapova struggled mightily in her first two rounds in three-set wins over Evgeniya Rodina and Bethanie Mattek, and had her back against the wall in the first set against Knapp, who was crushing her crosscourt backhand and confusing her with her serve. But not content to retrieve, Sharapova stepped well inside the court and began to paint the lines.
"She's tall and a pretty strong girl," Sharapova said. "She's very deep and big strokes. I don't think she's a great mover. I felt like when I could take advantage, and see the opportunities, I was on the offensive, and then I felt like I was doing the right things."
Sharapova and Safina will meet for the second time at Roland Garros. The last time, in 2006, Safina came back from a 1-5 deficit in the third set on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and stunned the woman who is known for her closing-abilities. Sharapova is planning on singing a different song on Monday.
"She's been playing some really good tennis in the last couple weeks," Sharapova said. "She had a really good win a couple weeks ago over good top players. She's confident right now; she's playing with a lot of confidence. She's also playing on a surface that she likes to play on, and sort of grew up on as well. The last time: that's one match that I don't want to remember. Obviously it's going to be a new day, and I'm obviously going to have to play better than I have and step it up. It will be a challenge, but it will be a good challenge."
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Nick Bollettieri's report
http://nickstennispicks.com/
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On the women's side, we caught the first set between Maria Sharapova and Karin Knapp. That was the first time we saw Knapp live in action, and she was impressive. She went for broke on almost every shot, and has excellent groundstrokes and serves very well. One thing that was interesting was that on Sharapova's second serves, Knapp would either step into the court or step into the ally, which frustrated Sharapova enough to make her hit double faults. This tactic is a good one to use no matter what your age, ability, or skill-level. Giving your opponent a different look on the serve will distract them, and may even give you a couple of free points.
After losing the first set in a tiebreak, Knapp collapsed in the second set and didn't win a game. That is the difference between good players and great ones. Knapp cannot go into the second set thinking about the first one; she has to regroup and find a way to compete in the second. She was very close to winning that opening set, and if she would have believed in herself, she could have made that a match. Too bad.
For Sharapova, this was a good win. She looks at ease on the clay, and was coming forward to put away defensive returns throughout the match. She gets Dinara Safina next, and that is going to be an interesting match.
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French Open: Maria Sharapova joins Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova in last 16
By Vicki Hodges and agencies (The Daily Telegraph)
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Top seed Maria Sharapova progressed to the last 16 of the French Open, but again flattered to deceive on the claycourts of Roland Garros.
As in the first two rounds, Sharapova, whose power game is ill-suited to the red stuff, failed to hit her usual heights despite not dropping a game in the second set during her 7-6 6-0 win over Italy's Karin Knapp.
Knapp stayed the course in the first set until Sharapova grabbed the first break of the match in the seventh game. The Russian, though, was misfiring on her own serve, and she allowed Knapp to level the set at 5-5 and then force a tiebreak.
Knapp had an early mini-break to lead 2/1, but four points in a row from Sharapova turned the tables, and she was relieved to win it 7/4, smacking a crosscourt backhand winner on set-point.
The world No.1 won a marathon second game of the second set with another backhand winner to break serve, and moved into a 3-0 lead that she never looked like letting slip.
But she will have to add more consistency to her game before going up against compatriot Dinara Safina, who defeated China's Zheng,Jie 6-2 7-5, with a quarter-final place at stake.
The pair have met five times, with Sharapova winning three.
Sharapova joined third and fourth seeds Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the next round.
Serbian Jankovic will face Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland for a place in the quarter-finals after defeating Dominika Cibulkov� of Slovakia 7-5 6-3.
Kuznetsova, meanwhile, demonstrated why she is much fancied to go all the way at the second Grand Slam of the year with a ruthless showing to book her spot in the fourth round.
The fourth seed only dropped three games en route to the last 16.
Kuznetsova, who was runner-up at Roland Garros two years ago, destroyed her Russian compatriot and 25th seed Nadia Petrova 6-2 6-1 in just 69 minutes on Philippe Chatrier court.
The 2004 US Open winner will now face 16th seed Victoria Azarenka, who thrashed Francesca Schiavone 6-1 6-1 for a place in the quarter-finals.
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Dinara Safina was the last player I wanted to see in Maria's fourth-round draw, as she beat Maria at the same stage of the French Open 2006, after Maria had led 5-1* in the third set!! (Maria leads their head-to-head 3:2 now.)
Safina also won Berlin a couple of weeks ago, beating Justine Henin and Serena Williams en route to the final, where she beat Elena Dementieva. This makes her an outside shot for the French Open title, let alone a danger to Maria in the fourth round.
It doesn't have to be Safina, of course. I'm hoping beyond hope that the gorgeous Magdal�na Ryb�rikov� will take care of Safina in the second round - or Maria's best friend Maria Kirilenko in the third round. Little Maria is getting hotter by the year, and her tennis seems to be improving too: she won her first claycourt-title at Estoril.
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2309
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MARIA SHARAPOVA (RUS)[1] v DINARA SAFINA (RUS)[13] - Sharapova leads 3:2
Safina arrives in the fourth round without the loss of a set, as Kateryna Bondarenko, Magdal�na Ryb�rikov� and Zheng,Jie know only too well. But if she is to truly prove her title-triumph at Berlin - her fourth on clay - was no aberration, a win over Sharapova would do the trick.
Certainly Safina has had the better European season so far, although Sharapova's ambivalence towards the surface must have warmed with her run at Amelia Island, where she finally secured her maiden clay-court title.
The No.1 seed may have turned her tournament around in the second set against Knapp on Saturday - the first time she has shown characteristic domination all week - and assuming she keeps her unforced-error count in check, she has to be considered favourite in this match.
But two years ago at Roland Garros, Safina edged her slightly younger rival 7-5 in the third set in the very same round, and she's a more complete player than she was back then. She absolutely possesses the serve, groundstrokes and touch to do it again today - as long as she can keep her focus for the duration. It's a given that Sharapova will do just that.
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Nick Bollettieri's preview
http://nickstennispicks.com/
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After watching Sharapova in her match yesterday, I am a firm believer that she is feeling pretty comfortable on the clay. She was in a fight in the first set with Karin Knapp, but then in the second set she imposed her will and played the game that has taken her to the top of the tennis-world.
Did Safina end Henin's career? We will never know, but she was the last person to beat the former world #1. She is an excellent clay-courter and won the title in Berlin just a couple of weeks ago (beating Serena too)!!
Match-Up:
Sharapova is 3:2 against Safina, but the two haven't played since 2006. One thing is for sure: Sharapova doesn't like losing to her fellow countrywoman, and you know she is going to be prepared in this match. Like I mentioned before, she looks at home on the clay, and will try to dominate play from the outset. If it is rainy, the clay will be slow and could cause some odd bounces, which would hurt Sharapova. The dryer the surface, the more it favours her. Safina has groundstrokes as big as her brother's, and is not afraid to use them. Sharapova doesn't want this match to go three sets, and I think she will come in focused and ready to win.
Nick's Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets.
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- MARIA SHARAPOVA [1,EF] lt. DINARA SAFINA [13], 7-6 (8/6) 6-7 (5/7) 2-6
Another unbelievable comeback from Dinara Safina, who had beaten Maria from *1-5 down in the third set in the same round of the French Open 2006. This time, Maria led 7-6 5-2*, actually had a match-point at *5-3 (40/30), and also led *5/2 in the second-set tiebreak.
The quality of tennis from both players was stunning from the start of the match, and I enjoyed watching it very much until it turned nasty in the second-set tiebreak (it was when Safina levelled at 5/5 in that tiebreak that it suddenly became traumatic for me).
In the first set, Maria led *4-3, but had to save two set-points at *4/6 in the tiebreak before winning it. There was a 1�-hour rain-delay with Safina serving at *1-0 (30/15) in the second set.
The cold, heavy conditions favoured Safina's muscular power over Maria's flairsome power, but on the resumption, Maria played brilliantly to reach 5-2*, going for her shots and making them more often than not. She was beating Safina both physically and mentally.
But with Maria serving for the match at *5-3, Safina relaxed and played an unbelievable game to break back - particularly on Maria's match-point at 40/30, which Safina saved with a great spreading rally with a fierce backhand winner down the line.
It's hard to understand how Safina managed to fight all the way back to winning that second set - just really how things worked out on a point-by-point basis, I guess.
But in the third set, Maria was tired: not grunting in half the points, and her movement was noticeably slower. It's not surprising after the gruelling French Open campaign she's had - this was, after all, her 11th set in six days, with only Sunday off.
So Maria's dream of a Golden Grand Slam in 2008 goes down the drain, along with her #1 ranking, which goes to French Open champion Ana Ivanovic. Maria drops to #2 (by virtue of Svetlana Kuznetsova failing to reach the French Open final).
I don't think Maria will allow Ana to be #1 for long, though - I think Maria will take back #1 by winning Wimbledon, stay there for four years, and then, sadly, I think she'll do a Henin and retire at 25, as she has already hinted at several times.
The match was second on Court Lenglen, and started at 13:25 CEST. I saw it all on BBCi.
Safina looked more worried than Maria coming onto court. I think there's a lot of expectation = pressure on Safina.
Sam Smith was very negative about Maria's chances this week, saying that even the second set against Karin Knapp wasn't convincing because Knapp fell away. But I think she played very well in the second half of that match, and has had a much-needed day off to recover from playing four days in a row.
Sam Smith said Maria was probably glad this match wasn't on Court Chatrier: the scene of her collapse from 5-1* in the third set against Safina in 4r French Open 2006.
She also said it might be an advantage, tactically, for Maria to play someone she knows - unlike her first three opponents. That's much more important on clay than on other surfaces.
SHARAP * * *@ * *T 7(8) SAFINA * * * @* * 6(6)
Safina serving 0-0: Safina backhand wide. 0/15. Safina played a good spreading rally, came to the net, and hit a low forehand volley-winner off a testing crosscourt forehand pass from Maria. 15/15. Maria got down nice and low for a pinpoint backhand winner down the line. 15/30. Safina came to the net and hit a high off-forehand drive-volley winner. 30/30. Safina hit a pinpoint crosscourt forehand onto the sideline, forcing Maria into error. 40/30. Ace down the middle: on the centre-line.
They're playing at a very high level right from the start. It's very fun to watch, despite my worries about this match.
Maria serving 0-1: Safina backhand long. 15/0. Safina forehand moonball-return just long. 30/0. Maria forced Safina to hit a backhand moonball long. 40/0. Safina, driven wide, hit a backhand long.
Safina serving 1-1: Maria played a good rally until she netted a backhand. 15/0. Maria went for a backhand down the line, but it was wide. 30/0. Maria crosscourt forehand just wide (looked good to me). 40/0. Ace down the middle: on the centre-line, curling away from Maria.
Maria serving 1-2: Maria hit a deep, error-forcing forehand just inside the baseline. 15/0. Safina netted a wild backhand. 30/0. Safina netted a backhand. 40/0. Maria came to the net behind a pinpoint down-the-line backhand that caught the outside edge of the baseline to force a defensive forehand lob; Maria's forehand drive-volley forced Safina to hit a backhand pass wide.
So far, Maria's much more solid on serve than she was in the first week with all those double faults. She's also taking more time between points than in her second- and third-round matches - I have plenty of time to write my notes without inserting numerous pointers to my DVD copy to write up later.
Safina serving 2-2: Safina netted a forehand. 0/15. Safina came to the net behind a pinpoint down-the-line forehand into the corner, forcing a very short lob, which she dispatched with an easy smash-winner. 15/15. Maria retreated from the net after a smash, and Safina hit a crosscourt backhand dropshot-winner! 30/15. Service-winner. 40/15. Service-winner down the middle.
So far, Maria hasn't dropped a point on serve, while Safina has had a few little deficits to recover from. No break-points for either player so far.
Maria serving 2-3: Double fault #1 (second serve into the net). 0/15. Safina forehand just long. 15/15. Double fault #2 (second serve long). 15/30. Maria opened up the court with a deep crosscourt forehand, and hit a forehand dropshot-winner to the opposite corner of Safina's half of the court. 30/30. Forehand return-winner down the line. 30/40. Safina wasted the first break-point by hitting a backhand long, and her grunts are trembling with what I presume is anxiety. 40/40. Double fault #3 (second serve just long). Ad Safina (BP #2). Safina netted a sliced backhand - another sign of nerves at break-point. Deuce #2. Safina forehand wide after more anxious grunting. Ad Maria. Safina sprayed a wild forehand wide.
Maria got away with a really poor service-game there, and Safina has a lot of baggage to carry from not converting those break-points.
Safina serving 3-3: Second serve: Maria hit an error-forcing backhand down Safina's backhand-sideline. 0/15. Maria couldn't capitalise on a sharp off-forehand return as she hit a forehand drive-volley wide on the sixth stroke - bad position at the net. 15/15. Maria netted an unforced backhand. 30/15. Safina netted a backhand on the third stroke. 30/30. Double fault (second serve into the net). 30/40. Maria broke by spreading Safina with a crosscourt forehand + crosscourt backhand winner - both short-angled, just inside the sidelines.
Sam Smith said Safina is showing weakness to Maria, who has absolute control over her emotions. Maria certainly seems to be winning the mental battle so far - unlike at the French Open 2006, where Safina got into her head with intimidating body-language.
Sam Smith: "Safina has come out here too hyped up and too emotional."
Maria serving 4-3: Maria netted a forehand dropshot. 0/15. Maria backhand long. 0/30. Double fault (second serve long). 0/40 (BP #1). Safina sprayed a wild backhand very long - yet more nerves at break-point. 15/40 (BP #2). Forehand return just long. 30/40 (BP #3). Maria played a well-controlled rally with an off-forehand winner back behind Safina - certainly that break-point was saved rather than squandered. 40/40. Safina hit a pinpoint forehand winner down the line. Ad Safina (BP #4). Serve + big crosscourt forehand virtual winner just inside the baseline. Deuce #2. Maria played a glorious spreading rally, running Safina from sideline to sideline, and finishing with a forehand smash-winner into the open court. Ad Maria. Safina crosscourt forehand + crosscourt backhand winner - Maria doesn't slide on clay, so she couldn't recover. Deuce #3. Safina hit a deep return just inside the baseline at Maria's feet, forcing her to net an early backhand. Ad Safina. Maria dominated the rally, but hit a forehand just long to give Safina the break back.
Sam Smith: "Sometimes her serve is there, somethimes it's not, and I don't think she understands what's controlling it."
Safina serving 4-4: Safina netted a forehand. 0/15. Service-winner out wide. 15/15. Safina forehand return-winner down the line caught the outside edge of the sideline. 30/15. Virtual ace down the middle: on the centre-line (Maria checked the mark and rubbed it out with her foot). 40/15. Double fault (second serve long). 40/30. Safina made Maria look slow with a forehand winner down the line.
Safina is keeping Maria way back behind the baseline, making it much tougher for Maria to attack. Safina has obviously read that "I'm not going to stand 10 feet behind the baseline" quote from Maria.
It's starting to rain.
Maria serving 4-5: Mishit first serve into the stands! Maria smiled, and went on to hit a pinpoint forehand winner down the line. 15/0. Safina backhand long. 30/0. Safina hit a big forehand just long. 40/0. The rain looks quite heavy now (judging by some of the shots of the stands on TV), and Maria hit a forehand long. 40/15. Safina netted a backhand return.
Safina serving 5-5: Service-winner out wide. 15/0. Maria, driven wide, slapped a forehand into the net - another area where Maria has a disadvantage by not sliding. 30/0. Safina off-forehand wide. 30/15. Service-winner down the middle. 40/15. Safina hit a pinpoint service-winner down the middle; she pumped her fist and shouted what sounded like "allez!"
Steady drizzle.
Maria serving 5-6: Serve down the middle forced a short return; Maria hit a deceptive off-forehand winner, as Anna Chakvetadze did so often when hammering Safina 6-1 6-2 at Moscow 2006. 15/0. Safina mishit a forehand long. 30/0. Serve + forehand dropshot-winner (Safina "not up"). 40/0. A brave, deep second serve just inside the service-line forced Safina to hit a down-the-line backhand return just wide.
The rain looks pretty heavy now. The balls will be getting heavy, which is bad for Maria and better (though still pretty unpleasant) for the muscular Safina.
6-6 tiebreak (all scores Sharapova/Safina):
{0/0*} Maria netted a forehand on the fourth stroke.
{*0/1} A longish baseline-rally ended with Safina dumping a backhand into the bottom of the net.
{*1/1} Maria, driven wide, hit a down-the-line backhand winner into Safina's unprotected forehand-corner.
{2/1*} Maria on the fourth stroke dumped a backhand into the net. Sam Smith: "Pretty smart of Safina to be serving down the 'T' in the ad-court on the second serve, because certainly on that side, Sharapova does protect her backhand-wing more."
{2/2*} Maria netted a forehand.
{*2/3} Maria spread Safina with a deep crosscourt backhand onto the baseline + short-angled crosscourt backhand, forcing Safina to slice a defensive backhand long.
{*3/3} Maria spread Safina some more, but couldn't gain any real initiative, and hit a big crosscourt forehand just wide.
{3/4*} Safina double fault (second serve into the net). A very important point, I feel.
{4/4*} Safina serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner just inside the sideline.
{*4/5} Maria on the fifth stroke netted a forehand.
{*4/6: Safina SP #1} Maria played an unbelievable off-forehand dropshot-winner from the baseline!! Sam Smith: "I don't think you'd see it on a hard court, and I don't think you'd see it on a grass-court either."
{5/6*: Safina SP #2} Maria spread Safina with a short-angled crosscourt backhand + short-angled crosscourt forehand + forehand down the line, forcing Safina to net a sliced backhand. Safina threw her racket hard against the court and got a code-violation. Considering how close to a ballboy it appeared to bounce, she was lucky not to get a default.
{6/6*} Maria forced a defensive lob from Safina, and nailed a forehand winner down the line: right in the corner.
{7/6*: Maria SP #1} Maria forced Safina to hit a backhand lob wide; the umpire checked the mark and confirmed it, much to Safina's disgust. Maria won the first set 7-6 (8/6) at 14:33 (1h08m).
Well, Safina now has the baggage of two set-points to carry. Sam Smith said Maria doesn't respect Safina in terms of Safina's emotional outbursts, and would consider it a personal affront to lose to someone like that. "Personal affront" seems to be the BBC-commentators' catchphrase this French Open.
SHARAP *@*@* * 6(5) SAFINA @* *@* *T 7(7)
Maria serving 0-0: Safina drove Maria wide with a crosscourt forehand, forcing Maria to hit a forehand just wide. 0/15. Maria's depth forced Safina to hit a backhand lob long. 15/15. Maria hit a big crosscourt forehand just wide. 15/30. After a long baseline-rally, Maria dumped a forehand halfway up the net. 15/40. Maria gave Safina the break by hitting a forehand long.
A sloppy game from Maria, and Safina could still be dangerous now that there's less pressure of expectation on her - especially with the heavy conditions.
Safina serving 1-0: Maria hit a deep backhand return down the middle, onto the baseline; Safina hit a backhand but immediately stopped playing, asked the umpire to check the mark, and got it called out. 15/0. Ace down the middle. 30/0. The rain got heavier, the umbrellas went up in the stands, and Safina served a double fault (second serve into the net). 30/15. Play was suspended at 14:42.
By 16:00, the court was uncovered, and Safina briefly emerged from the locker-room into the corridor - only to go back into the locker-room as it started to drizzle again: the officials are waiting to see what happens with the rain before they get the players back out there.
They came back out onto court at 16:11, had a second warm-up, and play resumed at 16:19 (1h37m rain-delay).
Safina serving 1-0: Play resumed at 30/15. Safina backhand just long. 30/30. Maria opened up the court and hit a sharp backhand winner down the line. 30/40 (BP #1). Safina forced a short, weak ball from Maria, came to the net and hit a backhand drive-volley winner down the line. 40/40. Maria backhand winner down the line. Ad Maria (BP #2). Good serve: backhand return wide. Deuce #2. Serve out wide, right in the corner, forced Maria to net a forehand return. Ad Safina. Maria forced a short ball and hit a forehand winner down the line. Deuce #3. Maria netted a backhand. Ad Safina. Maria dumped a straightforward forehand return halfway up the net.
The first break-points that Maria has wasted, but the good news for her is that the balls are flying more easily through the air since the resumption.
Maria serving 0-2: Maria netted a forehand. 0/15. Serve out wide + crosscourt backhand winner. Sam Smith: "Any time you can get Safina out past those tramlines, you're in business." 15/15. Double fault (second serve long). 15/30. Maria, driven wide, short and low, hit an amazing short-angled crosscourt forehand winner! 30/30. Safina drew Maria to the net with a dropshot, but hit a backhand pass long. 40/30. Safina netted a wild backhand.
Maria is going for her shots since the resumption, but it's a risky strategy, and looked like backfiring at 15/30. That last error wasn't a good sign for Safina.
Light drops of rain around the court, but the sun is out.
Safina serving 2-1: Safina backhand just long. 0/15. Maria hammered a forehand winner down the line. 0/30. Safina forced a short ball, but hit a wild backhand long, and threw her racket. 0/40. A good serve out wide forced a defensive backhand lob long & wide. 15/40. Maria cracked a forehand return-winner down the line: on the baseline to break back.
Maria serving 2-2: A body-jamming serve induced Safina to dump a backhand return halfway up the net (would also have been wide). 15/0. Maria spread Safina with a crosscourt forehand + off-forehand winner into the corner. 30/0. Safina hit a great crosscourt backhand to force a defensive backhand lob from Maria, and dispatched it with a high forehand drive-volley winner crosscourt. 30/15. Maria forehand long. 30/30. Serve out wide: Safina sprayed a forehand lob wide. 40/30. Maria played a fabulous spreading rally "using every grain of clay": short-angled crosscourt forehand just inside the sideline + deep crosscourt backhand into the corner to force a short, weak ball from Safina, which she dispatched with a crosscourt forehand winner.
Maria's still going for her shots, and Safina's not getting much rhythm to work with.
Jonathan Overend: "You have to say, Sam, it's a potential champion we're seeing here in Sharapova if she can maintain this sort of form."
Safina serving 2-3: Double fault (second serve into the net). 0/15. Maria netted a cheap backhand return. 15/15. Good serve out wide: Maria netted a forehand return. 30/15. Safina spread Maria, but Maria replied with a crosscourt backhand to the sideline, forcing her to hit a backhand long. 30/30. Double fault (wild second serve very long). 30/40. Safina hit a very short second serve; Maria played another dominating rally and broke with a backhand winner down the line.
Maria serving 4-2: Safina netted a backhand. 15/0. Serve out wide + backhand down the line forced Safina into error. 30/0. Safina netted a forehand return. 40/0. Maria's crosscourt backhand bounced low on Safina, who hit a wild forehand wide.
Sam Smith: "Safina's realising that this isn't Berlin, where she beat all those top-ten players [Justine Henin and Serena Williams]. Not playing to that level here, and actually not being allowed to play to that level."
Jonathan Overend: "She's just dragging herself from point to point."
Safina serving 2-5: Good serve, but Safina on the third stroke blasted a backhand just wide. 0/15. Service-winner. 15/15. Serve out wide + deep forehand down the line forced a defensive left-handed forehand lob from Maria, which Safina dispatched with a forehand smash-winner down the line. 30/15. Maria hit a wide, short-angled crosscourt backhand return, pushing Safina outside the sidelines, where she picked off a backhand winner down the line. 40/15. A deep backhand return down the middle forced Safina to hit an early backhand halfway up the net. 40/30. Serve out wide + crosscourt forehand winner.
It's never over till it's over with Maria v Safina, but Maria seems to be beating her both physically and mentally since she was *0-2 down.
Maria serving 5-3: Safina forehand long. 15/0. Serve + amazing high forehand winner down the line: plumb on the sideline. Jonathan Overend: "That was just pure brilliance." 30/0. Safina spanked a pinpoint forehand return-winner down the line: just inside the sideline. 30/15. Maria on the third stroke dumped a forehand into the net. 30/30. Service-winner out wide. 40/30 (Maria MP #1). Safina played a great spreading rally with a fierce backhand winner down the line. 40/40. Safina hit a huge forehand down the line to force a short, weak ball from Maria, and hit a crosscourt forehand dropshot-winner. Ad Safina (BP). Maria sprayed a forehand wide.
That was an amazing game from Safina. On the verge of defeat, she relaxed, going for huge shots and making them. She is extremely dangerous if she can keep making these shots, but that would be a superhuman feat. Let's just see how Maria responds to this little momentum-shift, because she's been going for amazing shots herself, so her bubble could actually burst here - if not her vocal chords!
Safina serving 4-5: Serve + forehand winner down the line + "c'mon". 0/15. Maria sprayed a wild backhand return wide. 15/15. Maria netted a backhand. 30/15. Safina hit a pinpoint forehand down the line, forcing Maria to net a backhand. 40/15. Maria netted a wild backhand return.
A rather different complexion on this match now, but it's hard to believe that Maria's going to let this slip now, being so strong mentally and having outplayed Safina for all those games so recently.
Maria serving 5-5: Service-winner. 15/0. Safina scooped a forehand long. 30/0. Serve out wide forced a defensive lob, which Maria dispatched with a crosscourt forehand drive-volley winner. 40/0. Safina slapped a forehand into the top of the net... but it crawled over for a dead netcord-winner. 40/15. Safina hit a pinpoint backhand winner down Maria's backhand-sideline. 40/30. Maria on the third stroke sprayed a backhand wide. 40/40. Safina backhand return just wide. Ad Maria. She came to the net behind an inadequate dropshot, and Safina hit an easy forehand pass-winner down the line. Deuce #2. A serve out wide forced a very short return, and Maria SCREAMED as she hit an off-forehand smash-winner. Ad Maria. Safina forehand long, and Maria shouted a loud "c'mon".
Very important for Maria to win that game - especially after 40/0 became 40/40 - and break Safina's three-game winning-streak. Safina looks anxious at the changeover, while Maria looks tired - as I feared that she might be for this match, even though she's had a day off.
Safina serving 5-6: Maria sprayed a wild backhand return wide & very long. 15/0. Maria dumped a cheap forehand into the net. 30/0. Maria came to the net, and showed "lovely court-coverage" to cut off a crosscourt forehand drop-volley winner off a testing pass. 30/15. Maria hit a roaring backhand down the line, hard and deep, forcing Safina to hit a forehand wide. 30/30. Maria came to the net on a short ball from Safina, but sliced a backhand wide. 40/30. An intense baseline-rally ended with Maria hitting a backhand long.
6-6 tiebreak (all scores Sharapova/Safina):
{*0/0} Maria dominated the rally with fierce groundstrokes, and hit a forehand smash-winner down the line.
{0/1*} Maria on the fourth stroke netted a forehand.
{1/1*} Safina seemed to have a slight upper hand in the rally, but hit a forehand long to give Maria the first mini-break.
{*2/1} Maria dumped a backhand into the net. Jonathan Overend: "She's trying too hard." Sam Smith: "It's worrying when she misses on the backhand - usually secure under pressure."
{*2/2} Maria caught her toss - again, not a good sign for Maria - but the rally ended with Safina hitting a backhand wide.
{3/2*} Maria hit a forehand dropshot-winner down the line - a very cool shot under this kind of intensity and pressure.
{4/2*} Safina netted a backhand, and yelled in frustration. Finally some daylight in the score for Maria.
{*5/2} Maria sliced a backhand dropshot wide off a short netcord from Safina.
{*5/3} Maria double fault (second serve long - very late call; the umpire checked the mark).
{5/4*} Maria netted a backhand, and this is very traumatic for me after 5-2 in the set and 5/2 in the tiebreak.
{5/5*} Maria backhand return long.
{*5/6: Safina SP #1} Maria's backhand clipped the netcord and fell wide. Safina won the second set 7-6 (7/5) at 17:18 (2h45m gross, 1h08m net).
The nightmare of the French Open 2006 repeated itself in that set.
SHARAP @ * 2 SAFINA @* *@*@ 6
Safina serving 0-0: Safina forced a short ball and hit a crosscourt backhand winner. 15/0. Service-winner. 30/0. Maria netted a gruntless backhand return. 40/0. In another gruntless rally, Maria hit a backhand dropshot-winner (Safina "not up"). 40/15. Serve forced a short, gruntless return, but Safina hit a crosscourt backhand would-be winner just wide. 40/30. Maria started grunting again, but hit a backhand wide - however, the umpire checked a mark of Safina's and called it wide. 40/40. Double fault (second serve long). Ad Maria (BP). Safina's first serve was incorrectly called wide, so she got another, played a dominating rally, came to the net, but hit a forehand volley wide - good scrambling from Maria.
Sam Smith: "These two are on different planets mentally. Sharapova is #1 on the tennis-ranking, but she's #1 on the mental-ranking as well. All these problems just seem to bounce off her."
I'd have to disagree with the idea that Maria is much stronger mentally than Safina, because it's three matches now that Safina has come back from the verge of defeat to beat (or at least, on this occasion, take a set off) Maria. Safina can play amazing tennis when she's behind - more so than any of the other opponents Maria has faced in her career, even Justine Henin or Serena Williams.
Maria serving 1-0: Safina hit a crosscourt forehand just inside the sideline, inducing Maria to hit a forehand wide. 0/15. Maria sprayed a backhand wide. 0/30. Safina hit a crosscourt forehand winner back behind Maria. 0/40. Maria gave Safina the break back by hitting a backhand wide.
Safina serving 1-1: Ace out wide. 15/0. Safina came to the net, hit a couple of volleys and a forehand smash-winner. 30/0. Maria's forehand return clipped the netcord and fell back on her side. 40/0. Safina sprayed a forehand wide. 40/15. Service-winner.
The level of tennis has dropped now: more errors, and Maria doesn't seem up to the running that Safina's making her have to do now.
Maria serving 1-2: Service-winner out wide. 15/0. Maria pulled Safina wide, forcing her to net a forehand. 30/0. Maria forehand just long. 30/15. Safina forced a short ball and hit an off-forehand winner. 30/30. Maria hit a pinpoint backhand winner down the line. 40/30. Safina forehand just wide.
Safina serving 2-2: Service-winner out wide. 15/0. Maria netted a backhand down the open line. 30/0. Service-winner. 40/0. Service-winner.
For the first half of this match, it was Safina making too many unforced errors; now Maria's making them. I really think she's tired: not moving so well, and playing many points without grunting.
Maria serving 2-3: Safina forehand just long. 15/0. A longish rally with no grunting ended with Maria hitting a defensive lob long, and the umpire checked the mark from Safina's shot. 15/15. Maria seemed to have hit an ace, but it came back as a lob, and Maria netted a forehand smash. 15/30. Maria hit a crosscourt forehand, but just stood there like a lemon while Safina hit one back past her for a winner. 15/40. Service-winner. 30/40. A longish rally with "Nadal-like" defending from Safina ended with Maria squeezing a forehand winner down the line: on the sideline. 40/40. Maria on the third stroke netted a backhand. Ad Safina (BP). A long crosscourt-backhand drill ended with Safina hitting one wide. Deuce #2. Maria on the third stroke netted a forehand. Ad Safina (BP #2). And again - Safina goes a break ahead for the first time.
Sam Smith said Maria's struggling with her usual self-discipline, but the commentators don't seem to have picked up on my observation that Maria is tired.
Safina's playing very solid, not giving anything away, and making herself very difficult to beat.
Safina serving 2-4: Double fault (second serve long). 0/15. Maria sprayed a wild backhand lob-return long. 15/15. Safina drew Maria to the net with a dropshot, and passed her with a sliced backhand winner down the line. 30/15. Service-winner down the middle. 40/15. Service-winner.
The moment of truth. Maria's chances of a Golden Grand Slam are on the line, as is her #1 ranking (depending on how Ivanovic, Jankovic and Kuznetsova do). The pressure's on Safina now.
Maria serving 2-5: Double fault (second serve long). 0/15. Safina on the fourth stroke fired a bullet of a backhand winner down the line. 0/30. Maria on the third stroke netted a forehand. 0/40 (Safina MP #1). Maria saved the first match-point with a serve + forehand dropshot-winner. Jonathan Overend: "Heart-in-mouth survival-tennis from Sharapova." 15/40 (Safina MP #2). Serve down the middle; backhand return; Maria crosscourt backhand into the corner; Safina crosscourt backhand to the middle of the court; Maria hit a hard, deep crosscourt forehand just inside the baseline, but Safina replied with a deep crosscourt forehand into the corner, and Maria - behind the baseline and outside the tramlines - sprayed a forehand wide. Safina won 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 at 17:55 (third set 37m; match 4h30m gross, 2h53m net).
Maria left the court pretty quickly, without waving to the crowd, who booed her.
Both players had very positive W:UE ratios, but Maria was more erratic with 65:39 to Safina's 66:32, and Maria's winner-count dropped set by set from 32 to 24 to 9.
Maria got 63% of her first serves in, winning 64% of the points when she did so, and 42% on second serve. Safina also got 63% of first serves in, but had better winning-percentages: 69% and 50%.
����������� Safina's first-serves-in percentage improved radically from set to set (51% to 63% to 82%), while Maria's dipped to 56% in the third. Safina's first-serve winning-percentage also improved from set to set, while Maria's dropped from 77% to 69% to an abysmal 29%.
Safina's first serve was faster than Maria's: fastest 115-113 mph, average 104-98 mph. But Maria's second serve was faster than Safina's on average: 90-88 mph.
There were four aces, but all by Safina. Maria served 7 double faults to Safina's 8.
Maria broke 4 times from 7 BPs, but Safina broke 6 times from a whopping 16 BPs. There was one break apiece in the first set, two in the second, but Safina won the third by three breaks to one.
Maria won 8 of 15 points at the net (53%), while Safina won 8 of 12 (67%).
In points, Safina won 117-106 (first set 40-45, second set 46-45, third set 31-16).
SAFINA STUNS TOP SEED SHARAPOVA [CEEFAX 490->491]
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Safina stuns top seed Sharapova [CEEFAX 491]
Dinara Safina proved her title-credentials with a 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 win over top seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the French Open.
Sharapova had struggled for form in her opening three matches, and many tipped her fellow Russian to cause an upset.
And after letting two set-points slip by in the opener, Safina saved a match-point in the second set before taking control of a tense decider.
She will play compatriot Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.
Safina delighted with fightback [CEEFAX 491]
Dinara Safina said her decision to play more aggressively was the key in her comeback-win over Maria Sharapova.
"After my title this season in Berlin, this was one of my best matches and one of my best comebacks," said Safina.
"I knew I could beat her, but I put too much pressure on myself, and was way too passive. I was too dependent on her.
"But I hit a winner on her match-point, and it changed things. Maybe she went a little down, but I went for it - and for my shots."
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Sharapova regrets wasted chances [CEEFAX 490->491]
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Maria Sharapova felt she had missed too many chances to close out the match before losing to Dinara Safina at the French Open.
"I had many opportunities, but I guess it was a combination of not taking those chances and being a little unlucky at times," said Sharapova.
"Physically, you have to stick with her. She's had great success on clay, and is a really tough opponent on the surface.
"It went in the wrong direction really fast. It was just one of those days."
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SHARAPOVA FALLS TO SAFINA-FIGHTBACK [Teletext 495->496]
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Sharapova falls to Safina [Teletext 496]
Top seed Maria Sharapova crashed out in round four after a spirited comeback from Russian compatriot Dinara Safina.
The 13th seed lost a tight first-set tiebreak 8/6, and looked dead and buried at 2-5 down in the second, but she saved match-point and went on to take it 7-6 at Roland Garros.
Safina broke the stuttering world No.1 in the sixth game of the decider before sealing victory 6-7 7-6 6-2.
Maria rues missed chances [Teletext 496]
Maria Sharapova was downbeat after crashing out to fellow Russian Dinara Safina at the fourth-round stage.
The world No.1 worked her way into a dominant position in the match, leading by a set and 5-2, but Safina dug deep to repeat her victory against Sharapova at this same stage two years ago.
And Sharapova said: "If you don't take the chances that you have, it can go in the wrong direction really fast."
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The "other Russian" comes out of her brother's shadow
By Drew Lilley (www.rolandgarros.com)
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More accustomed to being described as "Marat's little sister" or "one of a host of good Russians", Dinara Safina outlasted No.1 seed Maria Sharapova in the match of the women's tournament so far to win 6-7 7-6 6-2.
The No.1 seed came into the game with an incredible 30:2 won-lost record this season, winning the Australian Open as well as Doha and, more importantly in terms of Roland Garros, on clay at Amelia Island. Since arriving in Paris, however, she had returned to her self-confessed "cow on ice" routine on the red-brick surface, losing sets to Evgeniya Rodina and Bethanie Mattek, and only finding her rhythm in the second set against third-round opponent Karin Knapp.
Safina meanwhile came into the French Open peaking at the right time, collecting her first Tier I tournament win at Berlin � also on clay � and was one of the fancied outsiders for the tournament, particularly after strolling through the first week without dropping a set.
The devil was in the detail in the first set between two evenly-matched players. Neither served brilliantly (Sharapova managing two-thirds of her first services, Safina only half) and it was a question of which player would crack first. Most games went to a handful of deuces, and when Safina finally broke to lead 4-3, she handed the initiative straight back in the following game.
To a tiebreak it went, and the thirteenth game was a mini-version of the entire set. Dinara mini-broke, Maria mini-broke back, but Safina pulled away to lead 6/4. Maria then woke up to the reality that was staring her in the face and suddenly went on the attack, pushing her opponent back deeper and deeper both on service and return. She saved the two set-points, carved out one of her own, and that proved to be enough as a desperate lob from Safina just failed to clip the line.
Safina broke to open the second set, but then an hour-long rain-break sent the ladies back to the changing-rooms. Once they came back out, Safina looked to cement her break, and indeed held her opening service, but it turned out to be a mirage as Sharapova increased her intensity by just enough to throw her fellow Russian off her rhythm. Sharapova broke back to make it 2-2, and for the next few games, Safina seemed to be a step too slow, her concentration shot.
At 5-2, Sharapova had a match-point, but this was when, as if by magic, Dinara finally found her rhythm again. All of a sudden, it was one-way traffic. Dinara attacked, Maria defended as best she could, but there was no living with the No.13 seed's powerful and accurate forehands. Maria threw everything she had into the second set tiebreak and led 5/2 before Dinara got a lucky netcord, and then, with nothing to lose and two points from elimination, she charged back and went for every shot. Four points later, we were into a deciding set.
Again, there were breaks and rebreaks in the first four games before Safina stepped on the accelerator, and once she was in the zone, there was no catching her. She attacked relentlessly, and while Sharapova's defence was excellent, even she could not return absolutely every shot that the Moscow-native threw at her. The No.1 seed began to lose her cool, screaming at herself after blowing two makeable shots in game six, which turned out to be the clincher. Another weak Maria-forehand ended up in the net to hand Dinara the break, and that was that, the No.13 seed serving and breaking again to clinch the final set at a canter against her demoralised opponent.
Safina's reward is a tie against another Russian: 2004 Roland Garros finalist Elena Dementieva, who overcame yet another of the blue, white and red brigade Vera Zvonar�va in three sets this morning. For Sharapova, meanwhile, the self-styled "cow on ice" can at least go out to pasture and graze on the lawns of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club, where she won her first-ever Grand Slam in 2004.
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Safina holds on to knock out Sharapova (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot (editing by Miles Evans)
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Dinara Safina saved a match-point before emerging as a 6-7 7-6 6-2 winner of an all-Russian catfight with world number-one Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday.
The 13th seed, who had already beaten Sharapova in the last 16 at Roland Garros in 2006, will play her third Grand Slam quarter-final against compatriot and seventh seed Elena Dementieva.
Sharapova could lose top spot in the WTA rankings if either of Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, or Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova wins the final on the Paris clay.
"I knew that I had a chance to beat her, but maybe I just put too much [pressure] on myself that I can win, so I was way too passive instead of really being myself and doing my job on the court," Safina told a press-conference.
"She had a match-point. It was all in her hands. Then I hit a winner on her match-point. And then suddenly it changed, because I could not slow down anymore."
The two arguably delivered the finest match of the women's tournament so far, with Safina, younger sister of former men's world number one Marat Safin, eventually coming out on top after two hours and 52 minutes.
Sharapova made the best start, taking the first break with a crosscourt backhand winner as Safina failed to convert her chances.
Safina finally broke on her seventh break-point, which came in the eighth game, and both players held serve until the tiebreak.
The world number 14 opened up a 6/4 lead, but Sharapova saved the set-points by forcing her opponent into two mishit backhands, and claimed the two points she needed to bag the first set after 68 minutes.
MISSING TITLE
Safina threw her racket to the ground in a show of temper reminiscent of her brother, possibly earning her the future nickname of 'Marata' [her current nickname is 'Oafette'].
"I'm not the girl to keep all the emotions I have inside. I guess I have to pay lots of fines, because that's the way I am. I prefer to let it go," she said.
The opening games of the second set went with serve, but Sharapova broke for 4-2 with a sharp backhand winner down the line.
She held serve to go 5-2 up, and it looked like Safina would bow out.
The 22-year-old from Moscow had a match-point against her at 3-5, and saved it with a bold backhand winner down the line, and went on to break back before forcing another tiebreak.
The Australian Open champion got off to the best start and was two points from the match, only for Safina to win five points in a row to win it 7/5: the last one when Sharapova's backhand clipped the net and bounced wide.
Although she threw away a 40/0 lead on her serve to fall behind after the first game of the decider, Safina broke back to love with both players holding serve until the sixth game, when Sharapova conceded another break by netting a forehand.
An exhausted Sharapova found herself unable to run for the ball, and bowed out when she sent a forehand wide on the second match-point.
The French Open remains, for at least another year, the only Grand Slam title missing from Sharapova's collection.
"I played against someone who has had really great success in the last couple of weeks on clay. She is a really tough opponent on the surface, and I came very close," she conceded.
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Sharapova's Paris dream in ruins as Federer coasts (Reuters)
By Pritha Sarkar (editing by Miles Evans)
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Maria Sharapova's French Open hopes were shredded by a familiar foe on Monday, while Roger Federer plunged a dagger into French hearts.
Sharapova has never felt at home in the heartland of claycourt-tennis, and on Monday her weakness was unashamedly exposed during a 6-7 7-6 6-2 demolition-job by fellow Russian Dinara Safina.
As Sharapova muttered and spluttered her way out of Paris, Federer maintained his aura of calm to subdue the brave challenge of local hope Julien Benneteau 6-4 7-5 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals of Roland Garros for the fourth year running.
The Florida-based Sharapova had arrived in Paris announcing herself as the new face of a well-known jewellery-company, but during her nine-day stay at Roland Garros, her game failed to sparkle.
"It's not easy trying to write an incredible story that everybody's going to love," said the Australian Open champion.
"As much as I want to go out there and do everything perfect, especially on this stuff, it's not as easy."
After huffing and puffing past three obscure opponents in the previous rounds, she met her match in 13th seed Safina, who had beaten the top seed at the same stage here two years ago.
At 2-5 down in the second set, Safina looked to be heading out. Instead of accepting her fate, she chose to take out her frustrations on her racket, smacking it into the red dirt in anger.
Her hot-headedness proved to have the desired effect, as in the next game, she went on to save a match-point by unleashing a spectacular winner.
GAME EXPLODED
"I'm not the girl to keep all the emotions I have inside," said Safina, who will next face another Russian in Elena Dementieva.
"I guess I have to pay lots of fines because that's the way I am. I prefer to let it go. I feel that I have to explode, then I explode."
As Safina's game exploded into life, Sharapova's started to fade. Twelve months after describing herself as a 'cow on ice' on clay, Sharapova skidded out of the tournament by ramming a forehand long.
Yet to find favour with the French public, she swiftly stormed off, with jeers echoing around Suzanne Lenglen Court.
"I can't please everyone - that's not in my job-description," snapped the Russian.
Sharapova would perhaps be best to wipe out memories of her 2008 Paris-sojourn, but if she ever chooses to read up on it, it will make for grim reading.
In four matches, she piled up an astonishing 199 unforced errors and 43 double faults � certainly not the kind of statistics a world number-one would be proud of.
To compound her misery, Sharapova's premature departure could herald the end of her reign as world number-one.
She was in a four-way race to secure the top ranking at the end of the tournament, but if any of her main rivals � Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova � go on to lift the title on Saturday, they will also climb to the top of the WTA rankings.
She greeted the news with a "boo-hoo" before adding: "I came very close - just didn't go my way for some reason."
While Sharapova's dreams of completing a career Grand Slam stalled on Monday, Federer stepped up his pursuit of an elusive French Open crown with an entertaining win over Benneteau.
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No fairytale ending for Sharapova (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot
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Maria Sharapova, one of the most glamorous women in tennis, reminded everyone on Monday just how difficult it was to write a fairytale.
The world number-one, who arrived in Paris as the new face of a jewellery-company, was knocked out in the fourth round of the French Open after a two-hour-52-minute duel with fellow Russian Dinara Safina.
"It's not easy going out on the court and competing. It's not easy trying to write an incredible story that everybody's going to love," Sharapova told a press-conference following her 6-7 7-6 6-2 defeat.
The 21-year-old Florida-based Russian, who has won every Grand Slam trophy except the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, has never been a natural claycourt-player, and her French Open campaign proved it.
She had struggled in her first three matches, and it came as little surprise when she bowed out against Safina, who had beaten her at the same stage two years ago.
"Not one job is easy out there. I mean, the great thing about being a tennis-player is that there are some opportunities that you're going to get during the year, and it's really up to you to take those opportunities," Sharapova added.
After claiming the opening set on tiebreak, she blew a match-point in the second, and Safina picked up her game to come out on top.
"You know, you just try to learn from the missed chances and from the missed opportunities. You wake up the next morning, and you try to find that desire to go out on the court and get better," said the Australian Open champion.
"I'm sure that I'll be upset for the next few hours."
However, Sharapova, who could lose her world number-one spot by the end of the week, said she would get back to work soon.
"Don't get me wrong: I'm going to go back on the court, and whatever surface it is - hardcourt, backyard or the wall - I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work hard," she said.
"Hard work is going to eventually pay off."
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Safina upsets Sharapova at French Open (PA SportsTicker)
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Dinara Safina pulled off a stunning upset on Monday at the French Open, rallying from the brink of defeat to upset top seed Maria Sharapova 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 in a fourth-round thriller.
After losing the opening set and sitting through a 90-minute rain-delay, the 13th-seeded Safina faced a 2-5 deficit in the second set.
But that seemed to be the turning-point for the Russian, who broke Sharapova in the ninth game of the set before winning the tiebreak.
"She was 5-2 up," Safina said. "She had match-point. It was all in her hands. And then at 5-3, she had match-point. Then I hit a winner on her match-point. Then suddenly it changed. I was trying to focus on myself and what I have to do, and not to let her to dictate me."
That set the stage for the third set, where Safina completely dominated her countrywoman en route to her second career quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros.
"Maybe she went a little bit down, but then I started not to wait for her mistakes," Safina added. "I had the chance and I had to hit the ball, so you have to focus on yourself."
It was the latest disappointment at this claycourt Major for Sharapova, the reigning Australian Open champion, who was aiming for a career Grand Slam.
Ranked first in the world following the retirement of reigning three-time French Open champion Justine Henin, Sharapova has never advanced beyond the semi-finals here.
Sharapova committed 46 unforced errors and seven double faults in a match that lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes.
Sharapova was booed as she left Court Suzanne Lenglen following the match, and did not acknowledge the crowd.
"I can't please everyone," she said. "It's not in my job-description. I'm an athlete, and I go out there and fight my heart out. They paid the ticket to watch me, so they must appreciate me on some level."
While Sharapova is headed home, Safina will take on fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.
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Sharapova upset by Safina in Paris
By Howard Fendrich: AP Tennis Writer
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Maria Sharapova did not go quietly.
No, her departure from the French Open was filled with sound and fury: her stroke-accompanying shrieks, her self-loathing shouts between points, and the spectators' hearty boos and high-pitched whistles that ushered the No.1-seeded woman to the exit.
One point from reaching the quarter-finals at the only Grand Slam tournament she's never won, Sharapova allowed every bit of a significant lead to slip away on Monday, and collapsed to a 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2 defeat against No.13 Dinara Safina.
"Oh, I was angry," Sharapova said. "I was angry for making unforced errors, for not taking some of those balls and just ripping them."
Sharapova figured it wouldn't take long to get over Monday's setback and start focusing on the All-England Club, where she won her first Grand Slam title in 2004 at age 17.
With last month's retirement of top-ranked Justine Henin, and last week's losses by Venus and Serena Williams, Sharapova appeared to have a clearer-than-usual path to success at the clay-court Major. She was one of only two women with a Slam-title to her credit among the final 16 players, but will have to wait for another year in Paris.
"I came very close," Sharapova said.
She led 5-2 in the second set, and went up 40/30 while serving for the match at 5-3. But Safina erased that chance with a backhand winner, and eventually broke when Sharapova missed a forehand. In the ensuing tiebreaker, Sharapova took a 5-2 lead, but Safina claimed five straight points.
"It can go in the wrong direction really fast," Sharapova said. "It just started going that way."
Until now, Safina was best known for being the kid-sister of Marat Safin, who won the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open. She shares his broad shoulders and short temper, but thus far had not displayed quite as much talent or taste for the big stage, never advancing beyond the quarter-finals at a Major.
Even after beating Sharapova, she didn't exactly display bravado. Asked whether she could win the title, Safina puffed her cheeks, exhaled loudly, and replied, "I mean, it's not easy."
So who could have been surprised that she wasted two set-points at 6/4 in the first tiebreak? After blowing the second set-point, she spiked her racket precisely the way Marat does, drawing a warning from the chair-umpire.
"I'm not the girl to keep all the emotions I have inside," Safina said. "I guess I have to pay lots of fines, because that's the way I am."
She now faces No.7 Elena Dementieva, the 2004 French Open finalist, who beat No.11 Vera Zvonar�va 6-4 1-6 6-2 in another all-Russian match on Monday.
For Sharapova, things really began to fall apart when she served while trailing 2-3 in the third set.
At 15/0, Safina's forehand landed near a line, and Sharapova missed a backhand. Sharapova asked the chair-umpire to check the mark from Safina's shot, drawing scattered noise from the crowd, and the call stood.
On the next point, Sharapova botched a sitter and put a forehand into the net � drawing cheers, generally considered a breach of etiquette among tennis-spectators. Another short ball came at 15/30, and perhaps wary of another miscue, Sharapova sent it back cautiously, allowing Safina to pound a forehand. That prompted a scream from Sharapova.
As play proceeded, her yells became louder and louder as she berated herself, at least once with colourful language.
"You sometimes get a little too negative on yourself," Sharapova said.
After erasing three break-points in that game, Sharapova netted two forehands in a row, ceding the break. Now it was Safina's turn to let it out: She raised a fist and bellowed. A match in which she was playing from so far behind for so long was now in her control, and she did not let go, collecting 10 of the final 12 points � including Sharapova's seventh double fault of the match, 43rd of the tournament.
When it ended, Safina dropped to her knees to celebrate. Sharapova quickly collected her things, and left without acknowledging the fans, who jeered her on the way out.
"I can't please everyone. That's not in my 'J.D.' � not in my job-description," she said.
"I mean, they paid the ticket to watch me," she added, "so they must appreciate me on some level, right?"
Sharapova moved up from No.2 to No.1 when Henin quit, but the stay might be brief. Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Kuznetsova all could lead the rankings by the end of the week. Sharapova was asked about the possibility of losing her spot at the top.
Her reply? "Boohoo."
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Sharapova crashes to Safina
Se�n Fay (Eurosport/Reuters)
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Dinara Safina staged a remarkable comeback to end Maria Sharapova's dream of completing a Grand Slam with an epic 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2 win in the fourth round of the French Open.
The Russian 13th seed was 2-5 and a set down, and also 2/5 down in the second-set tiebreak, before producing a stunning come-from-behind performance to shock the world number-one.
It is the second time that Safina has beaten Sharapova in the event; she also won their last meeting on clay at the same venue back in 2006.
Next up for Safina will be a clash with fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the quarter-final.
Sharapova had saved two set-points in the first-set tiebreak to take control of the contest, but she then went an early break down in the second.
Her service looked very shaky and her groundstrokes uneven, but an hour-long rain-delay served her well.
After the break, she really brought her 'A' game to proceedings with some crushingly powerful groundstrokes - especially with her forehand - zooming past Safina who was finding it tough to cope despite putting in an admirable effort.
Sharapova rattled off five quick games in a row to move to the brink of victory, but then it was Safina's turn to launch a comeback.
With the pressure seemingly off, the 13th seed - who beat Justine Henin in the Belgian's last-ever Tour-match in Berlin last month - started to bully her more celebrated countrywoman with immensely powerful play of her own, and she managed to win three games in a row, saving a match-point in the process.
However, she looked in trouble during the second-set tiebreak as she trailed 2/5, but then a lucky netcord-bounce started a run of five points in a row which saw her nick the set.
The first four games of the final set were split, but Sharapova was starting to visibly crack, both physically and emotionally.
As her groans got louder, her game got poorer, and Safina took full advantage by claiming the final four games of the match to secure a famous win.
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Safina sends Sharapova crashing in French Open tennis-epic (AFP)
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Russia's Dinara Safina mounted an astonishing comeback from a set and 2-5 down to send top seed Maria Sharapova crashing out of the French Open in an epic fourth-round battle on Monday.
Safina, the 13th seed, triumphed 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2, saving a match-point along the way, in a tie that lasted almost three hours, and will now meet fellow Russian Elena Dementieva for a place in the semi-finals.
The victory echoed Safina's three-set win over Sharapova at the same stage in 2006, when she recovered from 1-5 down in the final set, and it came in the most dramatic of circumstances.
She wasted two set-points in the opening tiebreak, battled from 2-5 in the second set, saving a match-point in the ninth game, before then recovering from 2/5 down in the second-set tiebreak.
Monday's famous victory was also Safina's third win in six career-meetings against her fellow Russian, and postponed - at least for another year - Sharapova's dreams of winning the only Grand Slam title to have eluded her.
"I had many opportunities, but I guess it was a combination of not taking those chances and being a little unlucky at times," said Sharapova.
"Physically you have to stick with her. She's had great success on clay, and is a really tough opponent on this surface. It went in the wrong direction really fast. It was just one of those days."
But Sharapova believes she is close to modifying her game to the Roland Garros claycourts.
"It's a thin line between winning and losing. This stuff isn't easy, but I want to do everything perfectly."
Safina demonstrated her claycourt-credentials in May when she won the lucrative Berlin-tournament, beating Justine Henin to send the former world number-one into retirement, Serena Williams and then Dementieva in the final.
"After my title this season in Berlin, this was one of my best matches and one of my best comebacks," said Safina: a quarter-finalist in 2006.
"I knew I could beat her, but I put too much pressure on myself, and was way too passive. I was too dependent on her, and I was 2-5 down in the second set and facing a match-point.
"But I hit a winner on her match-point and it changed things. Before, I was just running and playing the ball back. But I had to focus on myself and not wait for her mistakes and let her dictate.
"Maybe she went a little down, but I went for it - and for my shots."
Sharapova broke to lead 4-3 in the first set when a Safina double fault - topped off by a crunching crosscourt backhand - put the top seed in charge.
However, Safina hit back in the eighth game to level the tie on a damp, humid Suzanne Lenglen Court.
Safina then squandered two set-points in the tiebreak when she led 6/4, and Sharapova made her pay by claiming the next four points to take the opener.
Safina carved out a break in the first game of the second set before heavy rain forced the players off court for 90 minutes.
When they returned, Safina held to lead 2-0, but Sharapova then ran away with the next five games to lead 5-2 before her 22-year-old opponent mounted her recovery.
Safina saved a match-point in the ninth game before pulling level at 5-5.
There was another dramatic twist in the tiebreak where the battling Safina came back from 2/5 down to claim the next five points and level the match when a Sharapova-approach took a netcord and went out.
After breaking each other in the opening two games of the decider, Safina held her nerve on a fourth break-point in the sixth game to lead 4-2, and backed it up to go 5-2.
A shellshocked Sharapova saved a match-point in the next game, but then handed Safina a famous win when she hit a dispirited forehand long.
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Sharapova beaten by Safina at French Open (AP)
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One point from the quarter-finals, a shrieking Maria Sharapova again came up short at the French Open.
Bidding for the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win, the top-ranked Sharapova twice blew big leads in the second set on Monday, and lost to fellow Russian Dinara Safina 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2.
Sharapova's customary screeches reached maximum volume as the match slipped away, and the noise seemed to annoy fans. They whistled and booed Sharapova as she left Court Suzanne Lenglen after the match, and she didn't acknowledge the crowd.
"I can't please everyone," she said. "It's not in my job-description. I'm an athlete, and I go out there and fight my heart out. They paid the ticket to watch me, so they must appreciate me on some level, right?"
Sharapova won five consecutive games in the second set to go ahead 5-2, and held a match-point serving in the next game. She also led 5/2 in the second tiebreak before losing five consecutive points, then unravelled down the stretch, losing the final four games and 10 of the last 12 points.
It was the latest setback for Sharapova on clay, her least-favourite surface.
"On this stuff, things happen in a hurry," Sharapova said.
"It was all in her hands," Safina said. "Then suddenly it changed."
Safina, the younger sister of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, duplicated her upset of Sharapova in the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2006. She received a congratulatory text from her brother, and said she hopes to join him as the winner of a Major title.
"A dream of all our family," she said. "Once we do this, we can put the racket on the wall and say we did everything we could. But to get to his level, I still have to work a little bit harder."
The No.13-seeded Safina's next opponent will be No.7 Elena Dementieva, who won another all-Russian matchup against No.11 Vera Zvonar�va 6-4 1-6 6-2.
Trailing Sharapova 3-5 in the second set, Safina saved match-point with a backhand winner, then broke two points later when Sharapova pushed a forehand wide. In the second tiebreak, Sharapova double-faulted for 5/4, and then hit three errant backhands.
That evened the match, but the momentum favoured Safina. Sharapova's customary squeals during rallies became more intense during the sixth game of the final set, and she screamed at herself after points.
"Just trying to pump myself up," she said. "I was trying to get angry about something. I just started playing tentatively."
She erased three break-points before conceding the game with a forehand into the net. That gave Safina a 4-2 lead, and she closed out the victory, falling to her knees with glee when Sharapova socked a wild forehand on match-point.
It was latest in a series of memorable victories over the past month for Safina. She was the last player to beat recently-retired Justine Henin: a four-time French Open champion. That upset came on clay in early May at Berlin, where Safina went on to win the biggest title of her career.
"She's a really tough opponent on this surface," Sharapova said. "I came very close, but it didn't go my way for some reason."
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Safina Defeats Sharapova; Dementieva Up Next
http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2310
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In one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament so far, Dinara Safina came back from the brink of defeat to extend her winning-streak to 10 matches, toppling current world No.1 Maria Sharapova in a three-set fourth-round thriller on Monday afternoon: 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2.
Sharapova and Safina - the No.1 and No.13 seeds at Roland Garros respectively - went to war with their big serves and penetrating groundstrokes from the outset. Safina had her chances in the first set, taking a 6/4 lead in the tiebreak, but it was not to be, and Sharapova won four points in a row to take the set.
In the second set, it looked like Sharapova would run away with it as she took a 5-2 lead and held a match-point at 5-3, but Safina never threw in the towel, and rallied to take the set to a tiebreak. She even came back from the brink in the tiebreak, winning five straight points from 2/5 to push it to a third.
Sharapova broke in the first game of the third set, but it seemed too little too late, as Safina's momentum only grew. The 14th-ranked Russian closed out her top-ranked countrywoman 6-2 in the third after two hours, 52 minutes.
"In this game, it's all about ourself; if you start focusing on your opponent, you will keep focusing on her, and that's a mistake," said Safina on how her attutide improved during the match. "I started focusing on myself and what I had to do, and not letting her dictate. I had to change the game. I guess in the third set was when it really started working. Maybe her level went a bit down, but I wasn't waiting for mistakes. When I had chances, I hit the ball."
"I had many opportunities in the match; I can say today was just a day where the combination of not taking those chances, then getting a little unlucky at some times, things just happened in a hurry," Sharapova said. "I'll probably be upset for the next few hours, but don't get me wrong: I'll go back on the court and I'm going to work hard. Hard work will eventually pay off."
The chances of Sharapova giving up her No.1 ranking have increased after her round-of-16 loss. The three players who could take it - Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova - would all need to lose prior to the final for Sharapova to remain at No.1. And since Ivanovic and Jankovic are in same half of the draw, one would need to lose in the quarter-finals (because if both reach the semi-finals, one will be guaranteed a spot in the final).
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Maria Sharapova exits French Open to chorus of boos after defeat to Dinara Safina
By Mark Hodgkinson (The Daily Telegraph)
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The volume always seems to be turned up at Maria Sharapova matches, what with her shrieking grunts and the occasional wolf-whistles from the stands. But yesterday, the Siberian world No.1 was beaten in the fourth round of the French Open by Dinara Safina, and as she stalked off the Suzanne Lenglen court, she was roundly and loudly booed by a crowd that had turned hostile. This was a nasty, bullying soundtrack.
Spectators at Roland Garros are famously never slow at making their opinions known to the players, and on this occasion, the crowd appeared to take exception to the way in which Sharapova was disputing line-calls in the final set.
It would never have come to that if Sharapova had won in straight sets - as she plainly could have done, given that she led 5-2 in the second set, had a match-point on her serve at 5-3, and was later 5/2 up in the tiebreak. But instead of a place in the quarter-finals, all that Sharapova gained was an earful of stinging, ringing disapproval from the City of Love.
Safina's rain-interrupted 6-7 7-6 6-2 win meant that Sharapova was unable to complete a career Grand Slam. Sharapova has already conquered London, New York and Melbourne, but Paris has so far been too much of a challenge for her, both in terms of winning the title and winning over the tennis-public, as this was the second year in succession that she had been booed off in the French capital.
She received the same treatment on the same court last season after a fourth-round win over Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, which led her to suggest that "it's hard to be a tennis-player and Mother Theresa at the same time".
The Parisians certainly didn't think this was Mother Theresa reincarnated in a navy blue tennis-outfit. It felt like a mob on the move against the Americanised Russian, and it was difficult not to have sympathy for the 21-year-old. At Roland Garros, however, booing is in their culture.
"I can't please everyone; that's not in my job-description," she said. "I'm an athlete. I go out there and fight my heart out. I mean, they paid for a ticket to watch me, so they must appreciate me on some level, right?"
And it wasn't just the crowd who were angry with Sharapova; Sharapova was also angry with Sharapova. Towards the close of the match, she was calling herself "a choker", and seemed to use the 'F' word when berating herself.
While Sharapova has a mental hardness that would not shame a KGB agent, her fellow Russian Safina is known for sharing many of the emotional characteristics of her older brother Marat Safin: the serial racket-trasher of the men's game. Marat has suggested in the past that perhaps Dinara ought to keep a tighter control over her emotions, which is a bit like Gordon Brown telling you to look a bit more cheerful.
Safina, the world No.14, was bouncing her racket around after losing the opening set on a tiebreak, having earlier held two set-points. Sharapova, after holding on there, later appeared to be on the way to victory when she held that match-point in the second set. But Safina, who beat Justine Henin and Serena Williams on the way to winning the Berlin warm-up tournament, had other ideas. She raked a backhand winner down the line, and went on to break.
In the tiebreak, Sharapova played poorly after holding a 5/2 lead. There were echoes of her defeat to Safina at the same stage here two years ago, when Sharapova lost after leading 5-1 in the final set.
So Safina now plays another Russian, Elena Dementieva, while Sharapova could end up losing her world No.1 ranking. "Boo hoo," was what she had to say about that.
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Safina Stuns Sharapova
By Tennis Week
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The sight of Maria Sharapova's name in a Grand Slam draw can loom like a virtual dead end for the unfortunate player on the opposite side of the net. Unless, of course, that opponent happens to be Dinara Safina and the site of the Slam is Roland Garros.
On the red clay of Roland Garros, Safina sees a major meeting with Sharapova as an opportunity for advancement, and today the 13th-seeded Safina stubbornly fought off a match-point in the second set, roaring back from a one-set, 2-5 deficit to shoot down Sharapova 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2 and advance to the quarter-finals for the second time.
Facing a deep deficit against the World No.1, Safina looked within to summon bolder tennis.
"You know, in this game, it's all about ourselves. If you start to focus on your opponent, you're going to keep on focusing on her. That was my mistake," Safina said. "I was trying to focus on myself and what I have to do, and not to let her to dictate me. So it was - until I had to change the game. I mean, I guess in the third set is what happened. Maybe she went a little bit down, but then I started not to wait for her mistakes. I had the chance and I had to hit the ball, so you have to focus on yourself."
It marked the second time in the past three years Safina surprised Sharapova in the French Open fourth round. She scored a 7-5 2-6 7-5 triumph over Sharapova in the 2006 fourth round.
The top-seeded Sharapova was poised to avenge that loss when she took a one-set, 5-2 lead. Sharapova, who survived a 6-1 3-6 8-6 test in the opening round against Russia's Evgeniya Rodina, seized a match-point serving at 5-3 in the second set.
Sharapova had the momentum behind her, but Safina stayed one shot in front of her when it mattered most.
Unshakably serene on the big points, Safina saved the match-point to break for 4-5, then held for 5-5.
Sharapova's shrieks of effort reverberated around Lenglen stadium as she raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second-set tiebreak, but Safina refused to break.
Though she has succumbed to nerves in past matches, Safina strung together five straight points to capture the tiebreak and force the final set.
A confident Safina coolly followed her second-set comeback by breaking serve for 4-2 in the decisive set. She held quickly to consolidate for 5-2, then reached triple-match point on Sharapova's serve before breaking for the sixth time to complete her conquest.
The reigning Australian Open champion was bidding to complete a career Grand Slam sweep by winning the one major title that has eluded her. Sharapova broke to gain a 4-3 lead in the opening set, but Safina answered back. In a gruelling eighth game, she broke back for 4-4, and the set escalated into a tiebreak. Standing her ground and trading titantic groundstrokes with Sharapova, Safina gained two set-points in the tiebreak, but Sharapova staved off both set-points, and collected four consecutive points to earn the opening set.
"I mean, first set was strange," Safina said. "I had set-points even in the first set. I believed � I knew that I had a chance to beat her, but the way maybe I just put it too much on myself that I can win, so I was way too passive playing instead of really being myself and do my job on the court."
Undaunted, Safina, who converted six of 16 break-points in the match, broke to start the second set. A rain delay of about 90 minutes interrupted the match. When play resumed, Safina held serve for 2-0. Finding her range and rhythm, Sharapova asserted her authority in reeling off five straight games, and was on the verge of her fourth career French Open quarter-final, but Safina would storm back.
The younger sister of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin said her brother sent her a congratulatory text-message shortly after she got off the court. Now, she's trying to follow in her brother's footsteps by etching her name on a Grand Slam title-trophy to fulfill a family-dream.
"I think it's going to be a dream of all our family, you know. Once we do this, we can put really the racquet on the wall and say we did everything we could," Safina said. "But to get to his level, I still have to work a little bit harder to get to the level he was."
Though her brother lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the second round, Safina said she felt his presence on court today in the form of French fans who supported her throughout the match.
"In this case, I should say thanks to my brother, because I know the people, French people really love him," Safina said. "So I guess I get half of the support from his part. I really thank them that they were there. Even though I was down 5-2, but still I could hear people cheering for me. Of course it's always nice, because we play for them."
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The Evans Report: Safina's History Lesson
By Richard Evans (Tennis Week)
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History repeated itself here at Roland Garros when Dinara Safina fought back from a seemingly impossible position, just as she had done two years ago, to beat Maria Sharapova 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2.
Safina, the sister of Marat Safin, was match-point down when Sharapova served for it at 5-3 in the second set, having looked every inch a World No.1 when she returned after the rain-break to reel off five straight games. In 2006, Safina had come back from 1-5 in the final set to beat the Russian, but now she seems capable of greater things. This was Safina's 10th consecutive victory if one includes her shock-success in winning Berlin with wins over Justine Henin and Serena Williams, and it has put her into the quarter-finals at the French Open for the second time.
Safina thought she had started too passively; felt she had little chance until she hit a great backhand winner on Sharapova's match-point.
"Then suddenly it changed," she said. "I was really starting to hit ball much harder. In the third set, maybe she went down a little bit, but I started not to wait for her mistakes. If I had the chance, I had to hit the ball. I was finally focusing on myself and not my opponent."
This was a match that Safina thoroughly deserved to win, but Sharapova, who led 5-2 in the second-set tiebreak, blew it by not taking her chances.
"Yes, I had many opportunities, and if you don't take them, it can go in the wrong direction very fast," Sharapova said. "She's really good on clay and she's physically challenging. Especially in heavy conditions, you find yourself hitting balls above your shoulder. I'm a tall girl, but she can force you to do that over and over again. That's the strength she has."
Judging from the reaction of the crowd and some of the opinions expressed on our TW message-board, I suppose there will be people who are happy that they will no longer have to listen to the Sharapova-screech. Frankly, I am not one of them. It has nothing to do not appreciating Safina's performance, but Sharapova happens to be a huge asset to this sport, and it is a terrible shame that the public do not accept her as a graceful, intelligent champion. Because she is.
Losing in a major championship is a tough pill to swallow for any player, but it is especially difficult if you are No.1 in the world. She went through it at the US Open last year, and was graceful after that defeat, too. Today, it was tough to fault her in the press-conference, even when one British writer kept harping on about how the crowd were against her.
"I can't please everyone," she replied. "It's not in my JD, you know: it's not in my job-description. I'm an athlete. They paid the ticket to watch me, so they must appreciate me on some level, right?"
Then, levelling her gaze at the writer, she added, "You don't look so convinced, do you?"
And she managed a very small smile. I have often wondered how many highly educated, 50-year-old Chief Executives of major companies could withstand the intense and sometimes impolite scrutiny of the media if they had to face us within minutes of making a complete c***-up of some multi-million dollar-deal. Most tennis-players handle explaining their mistakes very well indeed, and Maria is right up there with them.
"I'm a competitor," she said, in answer to another question. "In sport, it's a little bit different from any other job. But nothing's easy. It's not easy going on court and competing. It's not easy trying to write an incredible story that everybody's going to love [You got that right, girl]. No one's job is easy out there. The great thing about being a tennis-player is that there are some opportunities you are going to get during the year, and it's really up to you to take them. You just try to learn from chances. You wake up the next morning, and you just try to find that desire to go out on the court and get better. I'm sure I'll be upset for the next two hours. But don't get me wrong � whatever surface it is: hardcourt, backyard on the wall � I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work hard. Hard work is going to eventually pay off."
That is what champions are made of.
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Dinara Safina Fights Past Maria Sharapova at French Open
Article by Aaress Lawless
http://www.onthebaseline.com/2008/06/02/dinara-safina-fights-past-maria-sharapova-at-french-open/
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Dinara Safina was the last person to defeat world No.1 Justine Henin before she retired, and with a touch of irony, she became the first person to defeat Henin's successor in Paris.
The 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open champion reached the quarter-finals at the French Open on Monday with a thrilling three-set win over top seed Maria Sharapova.
In an impressive display of courage and aggression, thirteenth seed Dinara Safina rallied from the brink of defeat for a 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-2 win.
This was not the first time she stormed back from a losing deficit against Maria Sharapova. Two years ago in the fourth round of Roland Garros, Safina trailed Sharapova 1-5 in the second set before coming back to win 7�5 2�6 7�5.
The match today on court Suzanne Lenglen was the best performance by two players that I have seen all tournament. Despite the 6-2 score in the third set, both women played remarkable tennis. In almost three hours of match-play, Safina posted thirty-four winners and Sharapova finished with thirty-three.
Many a player more experienced would have mentally collapsed after losing the first tiebreak, but Dinara Safina deserves to be commended for her fortitude and never-give-up attitude. Incidentally, Safina was named one of On the Baseline's 2008 Players to Watch, and you can read OTB contributor Paula Vergara's article about Safina here.FO: Dinara's Moment?
Kamakshi Tandon (Tennis.com)
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/travelblogue/2008/06/fo-waiting-for.html
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"Someday they'll be calling me Dinara's brother," Marat Safin once predicted. It was hard to believe, but then so was his sister's match at the French Open on Monday.
Maria Sharapova cracked. Dinara Safina was mentally tough. Combine those two unusual events, and you get an very improbable match. The 7-6(8) 6-7(5) 6-2 scoreline doesn't even begin to do justice to the twists and turns of the encounter.
In the big picture, this will probably be just a blip for Sharapova, who was already talking about getting back out there and rebounding for the grass. "I'm sure that I'll be upset for the next few hours," she said. "But don't get me wrong: I'm going to go back on the court, and - whatever surface it is: hardcourt, backyard on the wall - I'm going to go out there and I'm going to work hard."
But this result does have the potential to be career-defining for Safina. She has now won 10 straight matches and beaten four of the top ten in the past three weeks, starting with Justine Henin at Berlin - in what turned out to be Henin's last match. She then turned around and defeated Serena Williams in her next match, and went on to win the title by defeating Elena Dementieva in the final.
We have seen this before - two years ago, in fact. Safina defeated Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva to reach the Rome final, and then overcame a 1-5 deficit in the third set to defeat Sharapova and reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Waiting in the quarter-finals this time is Elena Dementieva, who was coached by Safina's mother growing up, and remembers Safina as a toddler. "She didn't play yet, but she was playing with the balls without racquets," said Dementieva. "She was always working so hard. Like she was always trying to show everyone that she can play as good as Marat, you know."
Big brother Marat has always had advice for little sis, even if his temperamental actions haven't always matched his wise words. "He say, 'don't do this,'" she related once. "I say, 'but you're doing this.' He say, 'I'm telling you this from my experience.'"
A little while ago, Safina decided she was going to do her own thing. "I texted him when I lost [in Los Angeles] in the first round, and I said, 'Oh, you know, I'm fighting, I'm playing, I'm working hard, and nothing going my way,'" she said last summer. "And he goes, 'So don't try that hard. It will be easier for you.'
"Well, it's his advice, but I better stick to mine: 'Okay, if I work hard, one day must be my day.'"
After Safina's win on Monday, Safin's text contained only congratulations.
Now, a bit like a big sister, Dementieva is genuinely pleased about Safina's recent success. "It's correct because she's a hard worker. Maybe she doesn't have so much talent as Marat does, but she really improved a lot. She's in the top 10 right now, and really playing at her best for this year."
If Safina can turn around and beat the extremely tough 'big sis' to reach the semis, it might finally be safe to say she's reached a new phase in her career. "It's every year, new phase of my career," she laughed after her previous match. "I guess I'm a little bit more experienced, so hopefully I will not do the mistakes that I've been doing before.
"I hope it's new me. God knows."
While we wait to find out, try unravelling this complicated scorecard for the match against Sharapova:
Safina had two set-points at 6/4 in the first-set tiebreak before Sharapova hit back strongly, starting with a dropshot-winner. Safina smashed her racquet when the score got back to 6/6 in the tiebreak, and appeared ready to implode, but went up 2-0 in the second set in between rain-breaks. Sharapova then ran off five straight games to go up 5-2, and reached match-point when serving at 5-3, but Safina cracked a backhand winner down the line, and the two were soon in another tiebreak.
As she had earlier in the set, Sharapova went up 5/2 in the tiebreak. But she suddenly produced a string of unforced errors, including her sixth double fault of the match at 5-4.
It was hard not to cast the mind back to their encounter in the fourth round here two years ago, when Sharapova let slip a 5-1 lead in the third set.
The third set looked like it was going to be a fight all the way, but once again, a surprise was in store: one player ran away with the last four games. Even more unexpectedly, that player was Safina. Sharapova struggled on her forehand and pulled off her serve, and repeatedly had her awkward movement on the surface exposed as Safina drew her forward with a number of crosscourt angles and dropshots.
Sharapova's shrieks got louder and louder and she swore at herself, trying get pumped up. "I was trying to get angry at something that can somehow get that anger out of me and just, you know, let loose," she said. "Because I just started playing tentatively."
It didn't work, and rather unfairly, she got booed by the deafened spectators as she left the court. "You can't please everybody," she said. "Not in my job-description."
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Up to Eleven
Peter Bodo (Tennis.com)
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2008/06/the-meter.html
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If you recall that immortal studio tour scene in the rockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap, you'll remember that the hilarious scene was driven by dimwit guitarist Nigel Tufnel's inability to explain why the volume-control on his Marshall amp went from a no.1 setting to eleven - rather than the standard 10. Maria Sharapova might understand a dimension of this issue better than most, because her greatest asset - her determination - has a downside that sometimes kicks into play: her emotional dial sometimes goes to 11, and instead of making her more focused and dangerous, it causes her to force the action in an awkward, almost negative way that we might call over-effort.
You can always tell when this happens, because suddenly, everything seems out of sync. Oh, she shrieks with as much gusto as ever; she throws her full weight into her strokes; she presses the attack with full enthusiasm. But everything is a little off: the ball flies slower than her racket-speed suggests it ought, the climactic scream is an almost imperceptible beat too early, too late, or too loud (which, in Sharapova's case, is saying a lot), her body gets wrenched into an odd configuration, and you can see how much she wants to win when she contorts herself, as if she had hinges instead of joints, as she clenches her fist and cries, "Come on."
It was like that today, at the end of Sharapova's match with resurgent Dinara Safina. With a 7-6 5-2 lead, it looked as if Safina was struggling with Lindsay Davenport Disease (LDD): a relatively rare condition that, like shingles, can strike at unexpected times, and which appears to be linked to acute self-consciousness on a major occasion. LDD is often associated with being paired against an overtly aggressive, self-confident opponent.
But in an unexpected reversal, Safina fought the disease and finally channelled "focused" Lindsay instead of "WTF?" Lindsay, brushed off a match-point, and went on to win the set in a tiebreak, and the match 6-2 in the third. She smoothly dialled her game from 7 to 10 over that period, while Sharapova fluctuated between no.8 and 9, producing too much unwanted feedback.
Sharapova lost control of the match in the sixth game of the third set, thanks partly to back-to-back points that vividly demonstrated why Sharapova is less effective on clay than any other surface. At 15/15, she cracked a terrific first serve to the forehand; Safina barely got her racket on the ball, lofting it skyward. But instead of playing the overhead or choosing the open court, Sharapova cranked the dial past 10 and tried to destroy the ball with a roundhouse forehand that she drove right into the net.
Sharapova inched the dial slightly higher, hitting another great serve: another ball with the kind of velocity that, on a hard court, would have produced a clean ace or feeble frame-return. But Safina dug that one out, too, and after a brief rally, she hit a clean forehand winner. Safina faltered on her first break-point, driving a routine backhand service-return long. It was a good time for Sharapova to regroup, perhaps dial back to a very smooth, musical 10; instead, she moved the dial even higher; she made a fist, bunched up, and screamed, "You choker!"
I'll leave it to others to figure out to whom she was referring.
On the next break-point, Sharapova smacked a winner down-the-line, but there was so little room left on the dial that it was too late. She couldn't resist the final, slight twist. The dial would go no further. Eleven! She screamed, "Kick her [f-bomb, followed by rhymes with "lass"]."
Neither of those reactions troubled me one bit; they were delivered while the French crowd, which was predictably anti-Sharapova, was making too much noise for the umpire or Safina to hear. Full-out competition often isn't pretty, even when a pretty girl is practising it. In fact, one of Sharapova's distinctions is that she still plays with the kind of vengeance you might expect from a hideous creature seeking vengeance on the world.
So there was Sharapova, at no.11 when a 9 or 10 might have served her better. Unfortunately, Sharapova's dial only moves in one direction, and once she hits 11, she's stuck there. At deuce, she over-swung on a backhand off the service-return, and netted the ball. A Safina-error restored deuce, but another pair of ghastly forehand errors - oh, if only the dial went the other way! - ended it.
I had to ask about this in the press-conference that soon followed, but I wanted to do it subtly - perhaps at no.9 on my own dial. Here's our exchange:
Q: You can be very tough on yourself, especially in tight situations. Is there a downside to that?
A: "Absolutely. I mean, I'm a competitor, and, you know, in sport, it's a little bit different than any other job, I guess. Because when you're on the court, you're kind of, you know: you either lose or you win, and sometimes there's a very thin line separating the two.
"There are many days where you really have to fight and you have to scrap, and you have to do everything you can to win. Many days, you're not playing your best, and you just try to find those openings and opportunities. Sometimes you do get those, and then you don't take them.
"I guess in sport, it's tough. Because as much as I want to go out there and do everything perfect - especially on this stuff - it's not as easy, and it's more challenging, you know.
"But then, at the end of the day, I played against someone that's had really great success in the last couple of weeks on clay. She's, you know, a really tough opponent on the surface, and I came very close. You know, just didn't go my way, for some reason."
The reply seemed both honest and sort of convoluted, so I followed up: What's the price you pay when you actually push that hard?
A: "Um, you sometimes get a little too negative on yourself. You know, sometimes it's not really necessary, because everybody: we all make mistakes, and we all, you know, we all want to do our best at anything that we do. Um, yeah. Not really in a talking-mood."
Call me crazy, but I'll take her in that mood over any other. Unlike the spectators, who literally booed Sharapova of the court on this sunny afternoon, I felt for Sharapova - nice as it was to see Safina beaming and aglow in her own presser, her eyes disappearing into two tiny black holes because of her enormous grin. Incidentally, I bumped into Safina's mom (and she's the spitting image) and dad shortly after the match, and they told me they had already texted Safina's brother Marat, who's also said to play a little tennis now and then. He wasted no time replying to his kid-sister.
And what would it mean if the Safins became the first brother and sister combination to win Majors?
Safina said, "Once we do this, we can put really the racket on the wall and say we did everything we could."
The accomplishment would still leave Safina two Majors behind Sharapova, but there are certain advantages when you can consistently dial it up to 10 - despite the pitfalls of having an 11.
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Safina makes her mark (Tuesday 3rd June)
By Chuck LaRose: PA SportsTicker Tennis Editor
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Dinara Safina officially has stepped out from behind the shadow of her older brother.
The 22-year-old, commonly referred to as "the sister of former No.1 Marat Safin," has definitely made a name for herself.
Safina stunned top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday, when she claimed an improbable 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 victory.
In what will likely go down as the match of 2008 in women's tennis, Safina recovered from a 2/5 deficit in the second-set tiebreak to beat the world No.1 at this claycourt Major.
The Russian is now in position to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final with a victory over seventh seed and countrywoman Elena Dementieva on Wednesday.
Considering the way she has been playing, and her 3:0 claycourt-mark against Dementieva, Safina appears primed to reach the final four, and possibly beyond.
Sharapova, who has said in the past that her claycourt-game is the equivalent of a "cow on ice", is not the first giant to fall to Safina on the surface this year.
Former No.1 Justine Henin decided to retire following her loss to the 14th-ranked Safina in Berlin last month.
In what was easily the greatest tournament of her career, Safina went on to beat world No.5 Serena Williams in the quarter-finals en route to the championship-match, where she rallied from set down to top Dementieva.
Just to put Safina's recent run in perspective: Henin, Sharapova, Williams and Dementieva are a combined 98:17 this season with nine titles between them. Sharapova also is the reigning Australian Open champion, and Williams owns eight Grand Slam titles. Henin retired with seven.
Safina, who reached a career-high ranking of ninth last May, is well on her way to cracking the top 10 again.
One thing she does have in common with brother Marat is intensity, which has gotten the better of her at times during her career, causing her to lose focus.
Nonetheless, that same temperament is one of the reasons Marat Safin became a world No.1.
The question is, can that same formula work for Dinara?
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Sharapova to relinquish No.1 ranking after French Open
By Howard Fendrich: AP Tennis Writer
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Maria Sharapova's short stay atop the rankings will end after the French Open.
Sharapova moved up from No.2 when Justine Henin suddenly retired last month. After losing in the fourth round at Roland Garros, Sharapova will drop back down and there will be a new No.1: current No.2 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, No.3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or No.4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.
None of those three ever has won the French Open or been ranked No.1.
The simplest scenario: If one wins the championship on Saturday, she will take over the top spot when the new rankings are released on Monday. Otherwise, either Ivanovic or Jankovic would become No.1 by losing to anyone other than Kuznetsova in the final.
Ivanovic plays Jankovic in the semi-finals on Thursday, while Kuznetsova faces 49th-ranked Kaia Kanepi in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
"At the end of the day, rankings take care of themselves," Ivanovic said. "If you play well, if you're winning, the rankings come."
Jankovic, in contrast, made quite clear that sitting atop the rankings would mean a lot to her.
"My dream is to become No.1 in the world, and now I'm very close," she said. "So I will try my best, and hopefully I can do it."
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Ivanovic dislodges Sharapova to secure top ranking (Reuters, Thursday 5th June)
By Pritha Sarkar (editing by Justin Palmer)
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Ana Ivanovic will become the first player representing Serbia to be ranked world number-one when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday. [Second - Monica Seles was the first.]
The 20-year-old Serb dislodged Russia's Maria Sharapova from the top when she defeated compatriot Jelena Jankovic to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday.
"Being number one is a dream come true for me," said Ivanovic, who will face Russian Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros showpiece on Saturday.
"It was a big surprise, because I was so focused on the tournament. This is a great achievement and something that I'm very proud of. It hasn't exactly hit me yet, because it won't be official until Monday. I'm sure we'll have a big celebration then."
Ivanovic had been in a four-way race with Jankovic and Russians Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova to secure the top spot at the end of the claycourt Grand Slam.
But the defeats of her three main rivals before Saturday's final means Ivanovic clinched the ranking early.
Sharapova's latest stint at the top spot will have lasted for only three weeks, as she took over as world number-one after Justine Henin requested to be removed from the standings following her retirement last month.
The Serbian is the 17th player to claim the top spot since its inception in the mid 1970s.
"We have all witnessed the dramatic rise in Serbian tennis during the last few years, and on Monday that will reach a new pinnacle when Ana Ivanovic is recognised as the WTA Tour's new number-one player," WTA Tour chief Larry Scott said in a statement.
"Ana is both a remarkable player and person, and no doubt the best is still yet to come in her still-young career. It is inspiring to see Ana's years of hard work and determination being rewarded."
Ivanovic has enjoyed a remarkable 12 months, which includes reaching two French Open finals and a runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January.
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