Note to sports media: Get Ova yourselves
In her quarterfinal round against Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova was careless, out of sorts, and lucky, in that Petrova pretty much came apart at the seams. The commentators, though focused on Petrova's dismal performance (she was also injured), did comment several times on Sharapova's poor performance, too. But they did what they always do--act as though it were the first time they had ever seen Sharapova play a less than stellar game.
This is the same careless Sharapova who was soundly defeated by Petrova and Mauresmo at the 2005 Year End Championships, who had all kinds of problems with movement at the 2005 French Open, and who was double-bageled by Lindsay Davenport in the semifinal of the 2005 Pacific Life Open.
I do not care for Sharapova's court screaming and her sex-pedaling persona, but I think she is an excellent tennis player. However, she has vulnerabilities that can be exploited by more experienced players. There's nothing wrong with that; she's still very young. My problem is with the tennis broadcast media, who simply cannot see the big picture when it comes to the Russian star. Every string of unforced errors, every cluster of double faults, every mental lapse, is a unique, never before seen anomaly. Mary Joe Fernandez is the worst in this department, but she is not alone.
We all know Maria can play really well. But she is far from perfect, and it does her no favors to pretend otherwise.
This is the same careless Sharapova who was soundly defeated by Petrova and Mauresmo at the 2005 Year End Championships, who had all kinds of problems with movement at the 2005 French Open, and who was double-bageled by Lindsay Davenport in the semifinal of the 2005 Pacific Life Open.
I do not care for Sharapova's court screaming and her sex-pedaling persona, but I think she is an excellent tennis player. However, she has vulnerabilities that can be exploited by more experienced players. There's nothing wrong with that; she's still very young. My problem is with the tennis broadcast media, who simply cannot see the big picture when it comes to the Russian star. Every string of unforced errors, every cluster of double faults, every mental lapse, is a unique, never before seen anomaly. Mary Joe Fernandez is the worst in this department, but she is not alone.
We all know Maria can play really well. But she is far from perfect, and it does her no favors to pretend otherwise.
posted by Diane at 6:01 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I very much agree with the Maria can do no wrong attitude of most commentators. I too thought of Davenport's love and love win over her and the apparent amnesia commentators have acquired over that event. They praise her continually for managing her off-court publicity with her on-court work ethic--which is clearly meant as a contrast to the Williams sisters who apparently cannot be so efficient. Or rather their parents cannot manage them as well as Yuri manages his daughter. That guy creeps me out a bit. I am surprised he hasn't received more media scrutiny given the preponderance of crazy tennis dads in this sport.
By
ken, at
12:06 PM
The low moment came the other night when Fernandez said that Maria had played lower-ranked players in the early rounds, but Petrova was seeded sixth, so Maria knew she had to bring her game up. "That is because she is so mature," Drysdale replied.
Yuri totally creeps me out. The way he grabbed her and would not let go after Wimbledon set off my creep meter big-time. And he is reported to have screamed mercilessly at Maria over some of her losses. In the stands, he looks like he is always about to have a heart attack.
By
Anonymous, at
12:42 PM
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