For almost two sets of today's Sony Open final, it looked like Maria Sharapova's Miami curse might finally be broken. But it wasn't to be, as Serena Williams defeated her 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 and won her 6th Miami title.
When both players held easily in the opening games, I got the sense that there might actually be real contest in the making. The third game lasted 14 minutes, and Sharapova had three break chances, but could not convert any of them. At 4-all, Sharapova held a break point, which was wiped away with an ace from Williams, but then the Russian made the conversion on her second break point. She held at love when she served for the set.
Sharapova hadn't taken a set off of Williams for five years. The last time she had won a set against her was in Charleston in 2008.
Williams began the second set with a love hold, and after she had gotten a couple of points out of her system, she shot her a opponent a quick "You want a fight? You've got one" look that scared me, and I was sitting hundreds of miles away in my living room.
Williams broke in the third game, and was broken right back. Then, at 2-all, Sharapova broke Williams at love. Was it really happening? The Miami 3rd seed was moving into her forehand with the kind of finesse we never used to see from her, and she was using that forehand to her advantage. But then Williams broke her right back, and an intense ground rally came next, followed by an intense net encounter, with Williams holding. Williams would go on to take that set 6-3.
Williams broke right away in the third set. By this time, the world number 1 was giving Sharapova very few errors. Serving at 0-2, Sharapova went down 0-30, brought the score to 30-all, then double-faulted twice to get broken again.
For Sharapova, the Miami ship had sailed. Williams ended up winning 10 games in a row, and Sharapova didn't win a single game in the final set.
There was a time when Sharapova hit ace after ace. There was also a time when Sharapova had an outstanding second serve, and won a lot of points with it. But--despite making a lot of post-surgery progress in the serving department--the Russian's serve is no longer the reliable factor it used to be. Williams' serve, on the other hand, is more reliable than ever.
Williams has now won the Miami tournament more times than any other player in WTA history. Sharapova is now five-time runner-up, which has to sting. The Russian owns a Career Slam, but she can't win Miami. She did win Indian Wells, however, and will now go about preparing to defend her French Open title.
The only player with the firepower to contend with Serena is Petra Kvitova. Unfortunately for us, it's too early in Petra's career (not enough experience) and her asthma is in the way sometimes, for us to expect the rivalry that might have been to come to fruition. At Wimbledon and in Doha it was evident that experience won for Williams. Petra could have won those matches, but still lacks the belief that she can do it. Serena is more aware of this than Petra herself. After the match in Doha, Serena expressed surprise at having made it through and that she won, praising Kvitova for her shotmaking. If only they had both come along at the same time and ages.
ReplyDeleteI still think that if Maria could truly get her serve back, she and Serena could compete in a real way. And yes, I think Petra could compete with her, too--if......
ReplyDeleteI still like Maria's chances better than Serena's at the French Open, however.
Diane, I don't disagree much with you but I have to disagree here. Sharapova's serve has never been that big of a factor in her career. When people remark on her shoulder issues and how it has affected her serve, I always go back to look at her previous matches before the shoulder injury. She still hit numerous double faults and she still had pitiful serve stats.
ReplyDeleteIn today's match she served at a higher percentage than Serena for the whole match. At one point she was getting 80% of her first serves in play and Serena had less than 50% and yet they were on serve in the first set.
People also need to stop talking about Petra and the supposed rivalry with Serena. Petra is in the prime of her career. Serena is 31 years old. I presume that when Petra gets to 24 and Serena is 34, much slower and less powerful than she is now and Petra beats her people will then say that this is a rivalry. You have rivalries with people who are in your core group. Petra has to start consistently beating players in her core group then she can possibly think of beating Serena
You think Serena will be slower and less powerful when she's 34?! :)
ReplyDeleteSharapova's serve was better in the "old" days than it was in the later pre-surgery days. At any rate, she was hitting more aces to get herself out of trouble.
I sometimes wonder: What would have happened if left-handed Maria had just been left to serve and hit left-handed?
Karen, If you were to watch Kvitova v Williams, Wimbledon '10, '12, and Doha this year, you'd see that in each of those matches, Kvitova had her chances, especially in Doha this year, where it went to the limit, 7-5 in the third, with Kvitova up 4-1 in that set. Kvitova is NOT in her prime, she's still growing into maturity, gaining experience in big matches. Ignore her losses when asthma stops her, as at Indian Wells and especially Miami. When she is on, her ground and net game is superior to Williams', and Williams' service game and focus are superior. Let's see whether or not Petra matures mentally. As far as I can see, Serena is in her prime right now. Throughout the first decade of this century, she was up and down, in and out of form. Now, she is consistent more than ever. Still, all players have their bad days, as she did against Razzano. So much is expected of Kvitova that there has developed a certain animosity to her for not fulfilling expectations. Let us be generous and cut her some slack. We have almost always cut Serena a lot of slack. Equality of treatment comes to mind. Jes' sayin'...
ReplyDeleteIt is not a matter of their ages. Both Williams and Kvitova at their peaks would be amazing. No other players have ever had the firepower that Serena and Petra have. Petra is not at her peak consistently, and this is to be expected, her breakthrough only coming a year and a half ago. Serena is a force of nature and her fighting spirit is not exceeded by anyone. The greatest serve ever. Petra has the greatest groundies ever and as good an all-court game as anyone. (See Wimbledon 2011, Linz, Istanbul and the Fed Cup for examples).
ReplyDeleteWhile you're at it, don't forget to watch the Azarenka/Kvitova match in the Madrid final. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq_fBjZtFvU
ReplyDeleteKvitova can destroy the ball and opponents on any surface. Few can. It's a matter of her fantastic timing, stroke mechanics and ability to paint the lines almost supernaturally.
Doug and others I am not saying that Petra is not good, what I am saying is that before we start putting her in the conversation about beating Serena, (1) she has to actually beat Serena and (2) she actually has to start learning how to beat those players in her core group. What sets Serena apart from anyone else is her ability to refocus her mind and her game to achieve the desired results. Serena was doing this from long before she was Petra's age.
ReplyDeleteIn 2 matches at this Sony Open Serena was down for the count. If you watched the match you saw her visibly pull herself and her game together. It is a I will not lose thing. Despite Sharapova fist pumping and screaming her come ons Serena was unfazed. The death knell for Sharapova was when she called her coach down after losing the 2nd set. She basically told Serena that she was done.
As for Sharapova's serve, it could very well be that she lost a bit of power on the serve, but I doubt that is a huge factor. I agree though that if she had been trained to play left handed she might not have the shoulder issues that she now has. One of the reasons why her back hand is so good is because of the fact she is naturally left handed.
As for whether Serena has had any grief, I need only remind folks of the letter that was written to her by Chris Evert
ReplyDeletePoints taken, Karen. Petra has beaten everyone except Serena, and they have only met four times, three recently. It takes the new kids on the block some time to get there. And, not all players bloom within a specified time frame. It is evident to me that Kvitova has gotten closer to beating Serena each time that they've played. As a tennis coach, I can tell you that strokes like Petra's are nowhere else to be seen. She is preternaturally talented, like Serena, or Agassi, Sampras, Graf, et al. Nobody is saying that Petra is better than Serena, just that her talent is huge. She will most likely mature and learn how to win, how to deal with the business end of big matches. What she might not overcome is her asthma. Let's wait and see. Personally, I do not care about who is the greatest of all time, but I do know when someone has exceptional talent. Some have talent and great fight, but few have it all. Kvitova might have it all. Give it time. This is the toughest time ever to break through, because so many are in better shape and better coached than ever before.
ReplyDeleteIt comes down to this. Kvitova is a work in progress. Serena is the finished or nearly-finished product. Kvitova is the only girl on the horizon who is likely to worry Serena at all. Peace, dear friends.
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