OH, TO BE 17...and Backspin's 2004 Player-of-the-Year
by Todd Spiker
"The closer you sit, the hotter she gets."
Welcome to the ever-expanding world of Maria
Sharapova, at a moment in time when she is the postergirl of the WTA Tour's big season-ending tournament injust her first appearance in the event. A
momentwhere she's complimented on her "sexy legs" by
thetour's pre-eminent
stylist and former #1 (and, as itturned out, the
Supernova's eventual opponent in thefinal). A moment
where the 17-year old born of thecold environs of
Siberia somehow manages to exceed allthe slogans
(such as the one above) and slick LosAngeles
marketing campaign tricks that some might havefound a
little excessive. Got Sharapova? Got anothertitle. In the end, the Russian's star power outshinedeven that of Serena Williams, and the Superova pickedup a Tour Championship title to place next to thatWimbledon champion's plate she got over the summer.
One of the great things about watching Sharapova this
year has been seeing the process of her traversing her
tennis learning curve while on the job, and in the
spotlight. Again, her education was evident in the
Championship final. After failing to convert big
points late in the 1st (including tossing in a DF on
set point), she fell down a break to Williams at 1-2
in the 2nd. With failure staring her in the face, she
won the last five games to take the set, the final one
after Williams' "well-timed" abdominal injury break.Then, Williams ran off a 4-0
lead with whippinggroundstrokes while Sharapova was
overhitting Serena'sslow serves and was generally
off-kilter against herinjured, but still lethal,
opponent.
It was easy to question the serverity of Williams'
injury at that point in the match. Or at least it was
until her "painful" (to watch) series of serves after
Sharapova, having kept her wits about her, had closed
to within 4-3. To put it in tennis '04 terms,
Serena's serve was starting make Elena Dementieva's serve
look good by comparison. The Supernova's waiting gamehad paid off, as Serena physically wilted down thestretch and Sharapova fed on her slowing momentum likea starved animal, closing out the match, the
tournament and her season by claiming the final six
games of the set. Her victory completed the Russian
Horde's big-tourney sweep over the last half-year (and
the three straight slams, plus the Tour Championship,
could soon be joined by Russia's first-ever Fed Cup
crown... in Moscow, no less). All that, and Sharapova
somehow avoided knocking someone out with that
(literally) huge check she received during the
post-match trophy presentation, too.
Sharapova's talent and star wattage not only carried
the day in L.A., as her triumph further cemented her
burgeoning role as possibly the women's game's most
recognizable face. In record time. It also earned
her Backspin's 2004 "Player of the Year" award.
In my heart of hearts, I guess I wouldn't have had it
any other way this year... even if I did think a week
ago that Sharapova was such a longshot for PoY that
the court would need to open up and swallow the likes
of Davenport and Mauresmo for her to steal away with
the honor. Well, as it turned out, that's pretty much
what happened as Davenport stumbled in one of the
year's biggest events (again), and Mauresmo (again)
didn't take advantage of her great opportunity to take
year-end #1 (then pulled out of her Fed Cup commitment
less than two weeks before the semifinals and final).
Sharapova might be just #4 on the computer (a
career-high, which could be obliterated come her
re-emergence in January), but her strong 4Q finish
(three titles and a RU), a slam crown (Davenport and
Mauresmo didn't even reach a slam final), five titles
(two of them at the biggest five events on the WTA
schedule), a Tier I RU (Zurich) and more intangibles
that are great for the game than you could shake a
broken Marat Safin racket at (no one person did more
for their sport in '04 than the Supernova did for
tennis) more than qualify her for "Player of the
Year." Just look at the actual crowds in L.A. last
week, after so many "fans" came disguised as empty
seats a year ago... you'd be a fool not to attribute
the new success to the 'Nova's presence. "Person of
the Year" was a given. Winning this final title gave
the self-described "Renaissance Woman" just one more
advantage that couldn't be ignored. With every title,
the dream scenario of a player with Kournikova-like
crossover appeal AND a Graf-ian sense of the moment,
is starting to appear as if it might become a reality
in the lithe form of the Supernova.
Maria's annexation of the tour is not yet complete,
either. There are still three players ahead of her on
the computer... and she's not even the top-ranked
Russian yet. But that's what Melbourne is down there
for, isn't it?
As for the allocation of some of that million dollars
that Sharapova won on Monday night? Well, in her own
words, "that's a lot of shoes." So, apparently, there
are still boxes-full of new Supernova looks that we've
yet to be graced by.
It should be fun.
**BACKSPIN PLAYERS-OF-THE-YEAR**
2001 Jennifer Capriati
2002 Serena Williams
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2004 Maria Sharapova
WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS (L.A.-HI)
S: Maria Sharapova d. Serena Williams 4-6/6-2/6-4
D: Petrova/Shaughnessy d. Black/Stubbs
==PLAYER AWARDS==
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Maria Sharapova
...you were expecting someone else? Oh, in a fitting
conclusion, while she isn't ranked #1 (at least not
yet) it should be noted that the Supernova ended up at
the top of the tour's prize money list for 2004.
------------------------------------
RISERS: Sharapova & Nadia Petrova/Meghann Shaughnessy
...the Petrova/Shaughnessy team didn't win a grand
slam in 2004, but a handful of Tier I's and this WTA
Championships title made for a great year anyway for
two players whose singles results maybe didn't reach
the heights they would have preferred.
------------------------------------
SURPRISE: Serena Williams
...it's not often that Serena ends up in this
category, but who really saw her performance in L.A.
coming? She seemed more likely to not even bother to
show up than to have a shot to win the title. Of
course, it wasn't a surprise that she managed to
slight Davenport after losing to her in the Round
Robin, sport an "I (heart) Me" t-shirt to a press
conference, act (albeit somewhat playfully) as if she
didn't actually play and lose that Wimbledon final
against Sharapova in July, and raise questions (at
least initially) about her latest injury when it
occurred just as Sharapova was starting to take
control of the 2nd set. But that's why Serena is
Serena -- she's a lightning rod for good as well as
bad vibes. And now the "Serena vs. Supernova" rivalry
has surpassed the non-rivalry that was "Venus vs.
Serena."
------------------------------------
VETERAN: Lindsay Davenport
...sure, she went out with a whimper after not getting
out of the Round Robin, but she still finished #1 for
the third time in her career ('99,'01).
------------------------------------
FRESH FACES: Michaella Krajicek & Hana Sromova
...15-year old Krajicek's win in Stockholm was her
third ITF title of the year. But that's only half as
many as Hana Sromova, #250 and another in the Czech
Republic's well-stocked pool of young talent. Her win
in Mumbia, India gave her six ITF titles this year,
tying her for the season lead with India's own Sania
Mirza.
------------------------------------
DOWN: Amelie Mauresmo
...after Davenport failed to reach the SF, Mauresmo
had a shot at year-end #1 if she could have won theChampionships. But she blew a set lead on Serena inthe SF, then said that #1 wasn't her "main concern."The next day, she pulled out of her Fed Cup SF/Fcommitment (to the dismay of angry French team coachGuy Forget) in order to get more rest and focus on hertraining in an attempt to win her elusive first slamtitle in Melbourne. Mauresmo was 6-1 in Fed Cup playthis year, after leading France to the title in 2003.If she wins Oz, then this will be a good move. Ifnot, this is a pretty low way to treat her French teamat such a critical juncture.
==MATCHES==
1.F - Sharapova d. S.Williams
...4-6/6-2/6-4. The long-awaited rematch of the sonic
boom that sounded back in July was the fitting end to
a WTA season that turned out to be subtitled "Maria's
World."
===================================
2.SF - Sharapova d. Myskina
...2-6/6-2/6-2. The Supernova had never beaten the
Czarina before.
===================================
3.SF - S.Williams d. Mauresmo
...4-6/7-6/6-4. Hey, #1 wasn't Mauresmo's "main
concern," anyway. If she doesn't care, why should we?
===================================
4.RR - S.Williams d. Myskina
...4-6/6-3/6-4. Myskina led 6-4/3-0 before Serena ran
off eight straight games. She was up 3-2 with a BP in
the 3rd, too. If the Czarina had won, Davenport would
have advanced to the SF, not Serena.
===================================
5.RR - Myskina d. Davenport
...7-6/6-4. This was Myskina's first match after
losing to Williams -- nice to see she didn't have
another Athens-like hangover.
===================================
6.RR - Davenport d. S.Williams
...3-6/7-5/6-1. Too little, too late, for Davenport.
Considering the Williams injury woes, Capriati's
struggles and the dearth of top American talent, might
Davenport be the last #1-ranked woman from the USA
this decade?
===================================
7.RR - Sharapova d. Zvonareva
...6-4/7-5. Vera the Almost. After failing to get a
RR win, she finished 60 points out of the year-end Top
10.
===================================
8.RR - Sharapova d. Kuznetsova
...6-1/6-4. Kuznetsova might actually be the more
talented of the two at the moment, while Sharapova has
more ice in her veins in big moments. The big
question for '05 might end up being which of these two
teenagers can challenge for #1 first.
**PLAYERS OF THE 4Q**
1.Maria Sharapova
2.Amelie Mauresmo
3.Anastasia Myskina
4.Alicia Molik
5.Serena Williams
6.Lindsay Davenport
7.Na Li
8.Svetlana Kuznetsova
9.Vera Zvonareva
10.Martina Sucha
PERFORMANCE: Molik in Zurich
MATCH: WTA Chsp F - Sharapova d. Serena
"FIRST": Na Li wins Guangzhou
REBOUND:post-Athens Myskina wins Moscow
UPSET: Linz 2r- Jidkova d. Serena
SMARTEST MOVE:
...Sharapova tunes up in small events (winning two)
leading up to a Tier I RU and WTA Championship title
WORST EXIT:
...Capriati ended her season by losing to Zvonareva in
the QF of Philadelphia by a 0-6/1-6 score
MISSED OPPORTUNITY:
...Hantuchova is upended in 2r of Quebec City by
17-year old qualifier Melanie Gloria
===================================
==THE MIND OF MYSKINA==
..."Becoming #1 is very important to me. I was the
first Russian who won the French Open. I want to be
the first one who is going to be #1."
First up, here's a rundown of this space's prediction
record. I was pleased by my tournament champions
picks this season, but my semifinalist/finalist
predictions need a little work in '05.
==BACKSPIN WTA PREDICTION HISTORY==
-2001 (49 events)-
15 champs (30.6%), 42.2% SF, 36.7% F
-2002 (67 events)-
17 champs (25.4%), 45.7% SF, 36.7% F
-2003 (64 events)-
25 champs (39.1%), 49.8% SF, 52.8% F
-2004 (63 events)#-
26 champs (41.3%), 44.3% SF, 38.1% F
--
(#)-not including 2004 Fed Cup pick
FED CUP 2004 - SF/F
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
===================
==TEAMS==
RUSSIA: Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera
Zvonareva, Elena Likhovtseva
FRANCE: Mary Pierce, Nathalie Dechy, Emilie Loit,
Tatiana Golovin
SPAIN: Anabel Medina Garrigues, Maria Sanchez Lorenzo,
Virginia Ruano Pascual, Marta Marrero
==PREDICTIONS==
SF: Russia def. Austria 5-0
...no Barbaras (Schett or Schwartz) for Austria, so
the Horde should steamroll to the final that eluded
them in' 03.
SF: France def. Spain 3-2
...no Mauresmo, but the not-so-in-form Pierce, Loit,
Dechy & Golovin should still be enough. But it might
come down to the final match.
FINAL: Russia def. France 4-1
...unfinished business. 2004 HAS to end this way, or
else the joke is on us.
===================================
Odds & Ends:
Next week will be time for the 2004 WTA Quiz!... The
following week, the Fed Cup wrapup will also include
the Backspin Awards for this past season... And don't
forget that the Tennisrulz Reader Awards voting goes
on until the end of the month (with the winners
announced in the 2004 WTA Yearbook column) -- so
there's still time to state your opinion about whether
the Supernova will still be a champion in 2024, as
well!
