Russian crowned queen of SW19

Published on Sunday 4 July 2004 00:08

SO MUCH for Maria Sharapova being the next Anna Kournikova. The looks may be as marketable but this version of tennis totty came with hidden extras. True desire, a big-game mentality, gifted groundstrokes and, now, a Grand Slam title.

Prior to the match, while newspapers and boys slavered over the 17-year-old, tennis talk was of Serena Williams joining the elite band of Billie-Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, who have all won three Wimbledon titles on the trot. Everyone assumed she was just too powerful, too experienced, too good for the promising starlet.

But, by the time this Centre Court showpiece was four games old, with Sharapova enjoying a well-merited 3-1 lead, even the sport’s purists were struggling to see past the photogenic Russian, as she proved herself a sight for sore eyes in more ways than one.

For the past few years everyone has pondered who was going to topple the sister’s Williams. The players who had the power, didn’t have the talent or the nerve, the ones who had the strokes and the steel were physically inferior. The sisters simply blasted everyone off court and the women’s game had become predictable.

The Belgians helped haul the siblings back towards the chasing pack but this year it is the Russians who have assisted most in the Williams’ downfall. First Anastasia Myskina won the French Open, now there’s a new kid on the scene. The minute Sharapova sunk to her knees in celebration, Centre Court erupted and that adulation had little to do with looks.

Considered a slow-starter throughout these Championships, and with fears abounding that nerves could get the better of her in her debut major final, the kid was as cool as the cucumber slotted into sandwiches in this neck of the woods. If Serena wanted mind games, then her opponent won that game, set and match as well.

Looking relaxed and excited she was the epitome of a youngster living out her dream as she smiled her way through the pre-match formalities. The first set was simply another formality as she elected to serve first, held that and every other of her service games in that opening set, while breaking Williams twice to rattle through to the second set in just 30 minutes.

A combination of sublime shots, great decision-making and sheer grit was all too much for the defending champion, who looked at a loss. Everything she attempted came back at her, slammed into the net or sailed wide or long.

"It wasn’t my day," admitted the magnanimous loser. "I think she played her best tennis and, you know, she’s kind of like me, she doesn’t back off. She keeps giving it her all. It’s definitely good to see some different people besides myself, my sister and Kim and Justine [winning]. I was really happy for her because I know that feeling and that moment. There’s no better feeling than that."

Sharapova seemed to agree. "It’s the most enjoyable moment in your life, definitely." All fortnight she has displayed maturity beyond her years on court, only occasionally betraying her youthfulness off it. When she answers questions she either does so with the unfettered glee or teenage petulance. But her attitude towards journalists mirrors her attitude towards a sport she has devoted her life to since the tender age of four. When things are going well, the smile spreads across her face but it’s the steely resolve in her eye that illustrates her quest for perfection.

Having steamrollered Serena in the first set, the second was a tremendous battle. With the top seed dressed in gladiatorial-style attire, the tussle at times seemed like it would be to the death. An old-fashioned duel, where the chosen weapon was a tennis racket, the sweat and toil were evident. Only the blood missing.

Time and again the players pulled winning shots from their bags and when Williams finally broke her more inexperienced rival in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, there was the worry the tide could turn. But this young lady is made of stern stuff. Seeded 13th few had given Sharapova any hope of making the final, and once there they didn’t consider her a legitimate contender, but the only time the player or her entourage suffered any doubts was on Friday night.

"I didn’t really think about it but I kept believing in myself, then last night I had a terrible sore throat and I thought I was going to get sick. I was absolutely in tears because I didn’t think anything like this could happen, that I’d be ready to play a Wimbledon final and win. So, it’s amazing. To tell you the truth I don’t know what happened in the match, how I won, what the tactics were. I was in my own little world.

"I’m very surprised. First of all the first set was very tough but I felt through it all I was in control and then in the second set, when I lost my serve and was down 2-4 I was like, ‘Okay Maria, get yourself together’ and somehow I pulled it out."

Breaking back the real battle came in the ninth game of the set, when both players had countless chances to win, but neither could kill off the other. Like a scene from Fatal Attraction, every time you thought the mortal blow had been dealt, the wounded rose from the metaphoric bathtub. "I’m just a very tough person when I go on court and I don’t want to lose. I just love to win and I want to fight," said Sharapova who triumphed as the baby-faced assassin, taking that game to see her serving for the title.

If nerves gripped her at that point, they didn’t show. She quashed them the same way she quashed Serena and when she walked off court, with the trophy in hand and the applause still ringing in her ears, she knew she had earned it all.

"When I came off the court and I saw my name on the board already, ‘2004 Wimbledon Champion’, that was when I realised what had just happened."

Serena will probably still be trying to figure it out. Everyone else will just be celebrating.