by Pete Bodo
Mornin'. I guess people are so hungry for a Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova match that even the news stories are geared toward how this or that result might advance or damage the chances that we'll see that quarterfinal battle at Stanford between the two stars. In fact, since I included a news item in last week's ATW on Maria's declaration that she was eager to face Serena again, stories on the same subject popped up like so many mushrooms after a hard rain. So let's pick that story up where we left off:
Be Careful What You Wish For
Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking credit for inspiring this rush of copy - just making note of it. And it is funny how a story that started out as a testament to Sharapova's game spirit and competitive gusto suddenly morphed into one that focused on the implied challenge. By the beginning of this week, the story was not, Maria eager to play Serena. It was Maria calls out Serena! That's okay. I think everyone, including the two women, knows how all this works and milks it for all it's worth.
One proof of this theory is that Maria and Serena seem to have become frenemies. After Sharapova won her first-round match at Stanford, she returned to the subject of Serena. “You can never rest against Serena. She hasn’t played in quite a while but she’s still a great competitor. At the end of the day she has 13 Grand Slam titles and I have three. That says a lot. . ."
What kind of trash talk is that? One thing we can assume it says to Maria is, "I'd better watch my mouth here."
The two were also photographed together at the ESPY awards not long ago. Asked about Sharapova's comments a few days ago, Serena told reporters she admired Maria, and how she's. . . "Always just walking around and having so much aplomb, it’s good. I always admired that, it's really cool."
Did she forget to add . . Even though she won only three majors and has a stinky serve?
Also, note that in her first match at Stanford, Williams recorded her fourth career double-bagel, an oh-and-oh pasting of Anastasia Rodionovia - while Sharapova lost seven games in a row in the middle of her match with Daniela Hantuchova before she pulled it out, 6-4 in the third.
No matter how you cut it, it seems that the women have done their best to hype their quarterfinal meeting - unless Maria Kirilenko kills the buzz by beating Serena today. They last met in the third round at Wimbledon, where Kirilenko got just five games in two sets. Speaking of. . .
Headlines We love
Kirilenko Misses Bouquet at Dementieva wedding. . It appears that the fix was in, because Kirilenko told Tennis.com that Dementieva signaled that Kirilenko should move to a certain spot on the floor when it came time for Elena to toss the bouquet. But, according to Kirilenko, ". . .suddenly from somewhere Vera Dushevina came and sprinted and stole it from me."
Dementieva married hockey star Maxim Afingenov almost two weeks ago, with many tennis players in attendance. Among them, Igor Andreev, KIrilenko's long-time boyfriend. If it were me writing the headline, I would have been tempted to go with: Andreev Breathes Giant Sign of Relief at Dementieva Wedding.
Conversion Inversion
In an interview with Inside Tennis, Michael Chang recently expressed his disappointment with the way he was characterized in Andre Agassi's runaway best-selling autobiography, Open (the complaint line forms on the left, Mike; don't forget to stay hydrated). "Andre was very harsh on me for my Christian faith, but at the same time, I believe he understands where I am as far as my faith." Chang told interviewer Richard Obsorn. "We actually used to have Bible studies together early on in our careers."
Chang's comments are accurate, insofar as Andre was once one of a number of self-professed Christians who gravitated to the ministry of Fritz Glaus. But Andre is a lot like music icon Bob Dylan that way; his embrace of faith just seemed, or seems, too out-of-character - and too out of sync with how smart, un-religious people want to see stars and their heroes. Andre skirted the issue of his faith, or the evolution of his spiritual longings, in his autobiography and I've wondered why. Sheer indifference, these days, or because of some other, inhibiting conviction or belief?
!Pic As a Matter of Fact, It Is All About Me
Taking a cue for fellow Grand Slam champs Petra Kvitova and Kim Clijsters, Svetlana Kuznetsova withdrew from San Diego the other day, leaving the event to scramble for replacements with star power via wild cards. Mario Bartoli said she was offered one, but turned it down. Sheesh.
What is it with San Diego? It's a great seaside town, with a huge fan base for both the WTA and ATP. If you had to invent a place where tennis might go over big, it would be San Diego. Granted, tennis isn't exactly a beachfront activity, but southern California has always had a very powerful tennis tradition to go along with it surfing culture. San Diego has the Balboa Tennis Club in the park of the same name. it's one of the nation's great tennis facilities since 1922. Among the players who swung a racket there: Michael Chang and Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly, the first woman to complete a Grand Slam, who grew up in nearby North Park.
The main problem appears to be the calendar. Bartoli, for example, turned down the WC because she wants to limit her play to ensure she's fresh and prepared to make a deep run at the U.S. Open. Kuznetsova's decision is a little more difficult to understand - and, IMO, to justify on any grounds other than "I just don't feel like doing this and I don't need the money."
I know that by the time Wimbledon ends, the players are tired and all. But Kuznetsova hasn't been past the quarterfinals since way before the French Open (semis at Marbella), and hasn't played an event since the beginning of this month. I have a sneaky feeling that she hasn't spent these past four weeks doing two-a-day practices when she's not in the gym, either, but I could be wrong about that. Bartoli (who beat Kuznetsova in Paris) at least is playing this week at Stanford. Taking a week off before the two big events at Toronto and Cincinnati makes a certain amount of sense in her case. And keep in mind that those two big summer events offer roughly three times the prize money as San Diego/Carlsbad. Could that have had something to do with Sveta's decision to pull out?
The most discouraging thing, though, is that Kuznetsova is the defending champ at San Diego. Doesn't her decision to forgo the event this late in the process smack just a little bit of ingratitude?
!Pic Just Chillicing
Marin Cilic is playing at home in Croatia this week, so maybe he'll be inspired to make a little noise and improve that no. 31 ranking. Remember when Cilic was seen in some quarters (Including here) as a potential rival to Juan Martin del Potro, Robin Soderling, and Tomas Berdych in some Big Man Aramageddon?
So far this year, Cilic has been beyond the quarterfinals just once, at the ATP 250 in Marseilles. He made the fourth-round at the Australia Open via a fifth-set tiebreaker win over John Isner, but he's been a huge disappointment at the other two majors. At Roland Garros, he was beaten in straight sets in the first round by no. 100 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and at Wimbledon he lost at the same stage to fellow Croat Ivan Ljubicic. Granted, the winner was ranked a respectable no. 33 at the time, but Ljubicic has a terrible record in majors (by my count, he's failed to get out of the second round in well over half of the majors he's played).
I have all the respect in the world for Bob Brett, one of the least heralded of the great coaches out there (he's guided the careers of Andres Gomez, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, among others). And Bob always touted Cilic very highly. I have to wonder, what went wrong? Or perhaps it's more like, what does this guy lack that those other big men have - and have been able to keep?
The Last Word
After beating Rebecca Marino in Stanford, Marion Bartoli said: “I lost to Rebecca last year in Quebec, so it was good for me to take revenge." Revenge? For a loss in Quebec a year ago? Man, this girl has a long memory. Is there a more earthy, viscerally driven player on the tour than Bartoli?
That's it for this week, everyone. See y'all tomorrow.