A Return Thanks to a Resurgence

This time, there was nothing bad you could say about Maria Sharapova.

“What?” says the purest tennis fan? Yes, nothing at all.

You couldn’t accuse her of getting snarly with the media and protecting her atypical asinine father. You couldn’t berate her for her constant dearth of sportsmanship, whether it’s illegal coaching from her paranoid papa and hitting partner Michael Joyce, or the multitudinous “Come on’s” she vociferates at both appropriate and inappropriate times. And you certainly couldn’t dismiss this now three time Grand Slam champion for her serve, which went away faster than that Canon commercial she had with that dog last year.

Because Sharapova, whether you liked her or not, did everything right to win the Australian Open and ended all the talks about whether her career, at just 20 years of age, was already in a defining crossroads. And yes, you could be (and probably should be) happy for her, even if you are probably the farthest from a fan of hers.

“So exciting, it's amazing,” she said in a sense of relief and obvious joy after beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3. “I'm just so thankful that I got this one.”
Thankful is even an understatement to how jovial she was happy to win this title, because her dominance in the first six rounds of this tournament was in jeopardy in that first set. All that hard work in the offseason, that intense focus she maintained all throughout the tournament, and her brutal relentless efficiency almost meant nothing after Ivanovic won three straight games to go up 5-4 in the first set, and then be within two points away from changing the entire perception of both the tournament and Sharapova’s renewed confidence.

But “Mighty Maria” (if marvelous is too aesthetically pleasing for you taste of a fitting nickname) was destined to win this title, and she did nothing majorly wrong in order to spoil her resurgence to the upper echelon of the women’s game. The Serbian got tight, real tight, and didn’t seize the moment like she was about to.

Sharapova did the opposite of all those things. She didn’t give Ivanovic three set points with a jammed body serve. She refused to donate double faults like she did her previous serve game, where it seemed the “yips” had returned when the pressure and resentence from her opponent intensified. And she let her slightly younger opponent self destruct after a 15-30 drop shot attempt that you knew was going to be a major turning point.

“I was also two points away from losing that first set and I served my way out of it,” said Sharapova. “She got a little bit tight and also nervous because I think, you know, I was the one that was very close to losing that set. But I was just steady. I made her hit another ball, and it slipped away from her.”

And that basically was the only time interval were everything could have totally gone wrong for Sharapova in this fortnight. Everything else fell in her favor. The draw, though tough, didn’t require her to play those certain sisters who were the main culprits of such a disastrous 2007 on the court. None of those players except Justine Henin held a winning record against her, and she had a history of overwhelming Henin like she definitely did in that amazing quarterfinal display.

Plus, most importantly, the rematch with that younger one of the two Williams’ girls with the demolition of last year’s final still in her mental frame never happened, as Jelena Jankovic did her the favor of the year. For all the comments of putting that heavy defeat to Serena Williams out of her head throughout all the post-match press conferences, the “American” Russian did admit in her winning speech the reality of that abasing moment.

“Really, I was no where near close to winning, I only won three games,” she candidly said to the crowd in attendance. A majority of the fans at Rod Laver heavily favored Ivanovic but definitely respected a rambling but heart felt speech from the world number five after the French Open finalist sent her passing forehand attempted wide on match point. And if she didn’t win them over with that speech, which included a shout-out to Joyce’s late mother Nancy who succumbed to cancer and a happy birthday pronouncement to her mother, then she certainly did with her trophy walk around the court, letting fans touch the valued prize she won.

For Ivanovic, it was a great tournament cementing her status as a world class player. She showed on the hard courts that she is a top contender.She didn't let Venus Williams run wild in the quarters, and showed feistiness in weathering the storm of overwhelming shot making Daniela Hantuchova placed on her in the first eight games of that semifinal. But she still lacks that cutting edge and ability to tighten up and seize the moment like Sharapova has now done three times before turning 21. The champions are able to do that, and you must give the 2008 winner in Melbourne that accolade.

“It's a learning experience for me,” said the Belgradian. “I fought hard, you know, I just felt a little bit let down with my forehand, made some big mistakes in crucial moments.”

The Siberian born native didn’t drop a set here, and she didn’t lose her focus at anytime. And beside Yuri’s thorat slashing heard “around the world”, her camp didn’t do anything where you shuddered at the thought of her winning, unless you were weary of another controversial event from Sharapova or her notorious father. If she isn’t back at the top of the game, then she is certainly right there. And you can’t question whether she was at the game’s zenith these past two weeks because she deserved this title.

Sharapova may not conduct herself to the full likings of the press or the regular tennis fan (because the fully uninformed casual fans would think she and her team does nothing wrong). And to say she has undergone a complete transformation in her game and character these two weeks is just as naïve and ridiculous as pronouncing Roger Federer’s demise after being handled in straight sets by Novak Djokovic. She still is all about a great serve and punishing precise groundstrokes fueled on a will to do whatever it takes to win. And she still is a brash figure at times, especially when she feels irritated by certain questions.

No matter.

Even if you want to nip pick at her “complaint” of the Serbian fans not being quiet, her play over the fortnight and her tender moments on the microphone overshadowed all those pet peeves some many have about her for at least this tournament.

Maria Sharapova is back with vengeance. And with the way she won this title, 2008 is already exponentially better than 2007 for her and her legions of fans around the world. Because unlike last year, this Australian Open is where she could do nothing wrong at all in the beginning of the tennis season.