Sharapova Knocked Out; Men Cry Everywhere
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by Nejoshi
After a blazing start to her U.S. Open title defense where she lost only two games in two matches, defending champion Maria Sharapova’s bid for a second consecutive title in New York has come to a crashing halt. The number two seed was taken down 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 by 18-year old Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland. The setback ends what looked to be a favorable setting for the Russian, who had the great fortune of avoiding all of the game’s greats in her half of the draw.
In her post-match interview, Sharapova looked rather subdued, handling the defeat as though it was no big deal. But, this defeat is huge because it ends a disappointing Grand Slam season for the 20-year old. After three puzzling defeats – all by lopsided margins – in the year’s first three majors, many were expecting big things in this tournament from the glamour girl.
A dazzling red dress and two impressive matches in the tournament’s early rounds only added to that growing belief; a harmless 18-year old opponent in the third round only seemed to be another pain free obstacle in Sharapova’s quest for a third major and some redemption for her disappointing season. Especially frustrating was the manner in which she went down. After her setback in the first set, Sharapova came roaring back to win eight straight games, completing a 6-1 rout in the second set and earn a break at 2-0 in the deciding set.
Then, for no apparent reason, everything fell apart for Sharapova. Give credit where credit is due: Radwanska displayed tremendous poise beyond her years, making things difficult for her opponent, but Sharapova is a battled tested veteran who shouldn’t wilt under the pressure of a third round Grand Slam match. Her disappointing day ended with 49 unforced errors and the most vulnerable part of her game fatally exposed.
No one has ever questioned the power of Sharapova’s groundstrokes, but her serve has been subjected to its fair share of criticism in 2007. Maria tweaked with her service motion in the weeks leading up to the Open, but had never practiced it during a real match. Her pesky opponent took advantage of that throughout the afternoon, creeping up the court on Sharapova’s serve games. This move allowed her to assert control of points from the start.
Sharapova’s defeat leaves the bottom half of the women’s draw more wide open than it already was, with a bunch of opportunities available for anyone that can put together a couple good matches of tennis. The biggest beneficiary of Sharapova’s departure looks to be Czech star Nicole Vaidisova. The 18-year old has been ranked in the top ten in her career (currently 13th) and has made noise at Slams before, but this could be her first opportunity to make it to the finals. However, she has been known to mentally unstable, a trait that will need to be rectified in order to progress a tournament like the U.S. Open. Vaidisova takes to the court tonight on Ashe Stadium against talented Israeli Shahar Peer, the 18th seed.
