Brave Golovin retires; the brat goes to the finals

Tatiana Golovin at the 2005 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, where she knocked out defending champion Venus Williams and got as far as the semi-finals, before falling to eventual winner Justine Henin-Hardenne

Every once in a while, there is a tennis match so thrilling, you don't want it to end. It happened in Miami tonight, at the Nasdaq-100, though if anyone had told me, toward the end of the second set, that this was going to be a thriller, I would have fallen over laughing. Maria Sharapova was up 6-3, 5-1 against Tatiana Golovin. I was thinking about what I was going to do next, since it seemed obvious I wouldn't be watching tennis. Golovin then won two games, and broke Sharapova, while saving four match points, when she tried to serve for the match at 5-3. It wound up 6-6, and Golovin won the tiebreak. It was one of those rare but amazing tennis moments when it really isn't over 'til it's over, and in this case, it wasn't 'ova.

When Golovin went to serve at 4-5, Sharapova asked for an emergency bathroom break. No one asks for an emergency bathroom break, and the umpire denied her request. Sharapova appealed to the tournament's higher power, and was given the break. When she returned to the court, the crowd booed her. When it was announced that Golovin had won the first set, Sharapova immediately challenged the last call, but the scoreline was confirmed.

Sharapova seemed unsure of herself in the final set, but went about breaking Golovin, and then getting some of her fire back. When Sharapova served at 4-3 with a 0-30 score and it looked like Golovin was about to even things up, Golovin lunged for a ball and twisted her ankle all the way over. She called for the trainer, got ice and a wrap, and cried tears of pain. Meanwhile, Sharapova stood at her end of the court, shadow-swinging, and not once going to check on her opponent, whose tears were flowing and whose face was contorted in pain.

To everyone's shock, Golovin re-entered the match, but after hitting only one stroke, the tears of pain came again, and she retired, sending Sharapova to the finals.

The Nasdaq-100 is the biggest Tier I tournament in the WTA tour. A win over Sharapova in Miami would have been the biggest win in the career of Golovin, who has held match points against major players since the beginning of the year. The wonder child of the tour in 2004 (she jumped the most ranking points in the shortest time in history), Golovin's 2005 season wasn't that good because of two chronically injured ankles. Now she has done it again, and I doubt she will be in Charleston in early April, when I hoped to see her play again.

No one knows who would have won tonight if Golovin hadn't been injured, though the crowd was totally behind her. One way or the other, though, her ascent from 3-6, 1-5 will be talked about for weeks to come. She played some of the best tennis I've seen lately. Tonight's story had a sad ending, but no one will forget Golovin's spirit and her fantastic forehand. Nor will people forget the behavior of her opponent.