!91216083 Greetings, Twibe. I had to smile when I saw that Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova will face off for the title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open; it seems so, well, almost retro, as if the past year in tennis has been wiped off the hard drive, and we've returned to the WTA default setting. This is a good opportunity for both of these women to make the statement,"I'm back. . . "
Over the years, Japan has been a gold mine for tall, willowy blondes a la Sharapova. Some run-of-the-mill WTA players (Lisa Bonder comes to mind), achieved a startling - and puzzling - degree of stardom in Japan, because of that nation's fascination with certain elements of western culture and the individuals who seem to embody it. There's a ghastly degree of streotyping underlying that impulse, I guess, but it may not be as silly or insidious as it appears.
Many of the people who flock to see such distinctly un-Japanese women do so with no particular urge to emulate them in any way. They're just exotic, and bring something different to a relatively insular culture. It would be arrogant (and an odd testament to our assumed superiority) to deny a different culture the same right we so freely exercise when a Paradorn Schrichipan or Li Na arrives on the tour. Players from different cultures fascinate us, and here in the US they also generate an extra degree of attention and even support. People are interested in the un-me, plain and simple. Although not to the same degree as in the past.
Things are somewhat different these days, partly due to the globalization and the Internet. I'm not sure a ho-hum journeywoman who seems to personify western ways and habits has a key to the vault any more. And in Sharapova's case, all the attention she gets is certainly warranted - she's a great player with multiple Grand Slam titles, as well as an international style and fashion icon. Let's face it, Maria is big everywhere.
I noticed something about Sharapova's re-tooled serve at the US Open during her match with Melanie Oudin, and never did get a chance to address it. The preparation for her serve certainly looks awkward; apparently the new set-up position was designed to correct bio-mechanical stresses, or incorrect technique that created and/or exacerbated her shoulder problems. It looked like a pretty extreme solution, but then the problem certainly was serious.
What I found more intriguing and comment-worthy was her toss and address of the ball. Sharapova seems to be tossing the ball much further out in front of her body these days, and you can see from various pictures of her (this world has no shortage of Maria Sharapova images) that the direction of the toss and her motion really pulls her into the court. Men routinely toss the ball deeper into the court, then go up and chase it, with a great deal of forward momentum. Women do not. It's one of the reasons so many women struggle with the serve, both in terms of pace and also serving consistency. It also may be responsible for a certain degree of vulnerability to injury - the "arm serve" is a physiological nightmare waiting to happen, and you're much more likely to rely too much on your arm (instead of your legs,shoulders and trunk, via rotation) if you just throw the ball straight up and take a swipe at it.
!91269604 One of the main reasons women don't toss the ball far enough forward is the nature of the WTA baseline game. Tossing (more-or-less) straight up facilitates squaring up at the baseline to meet the return with a groundstroke. If you toss far enough forward to really get a lot of momentum and body weight behind it, it inevitably pulls you inside the baseline. Against a good returner, that means you may have to be extra-quick and possess a higher degree of timing in order to handle a penetrating return with sufficient aggression. There's a reason why, with a few exceptions (like kick-serve junkies Stefan Edberg and Pat Rafter), attacking players have always tossed the ball far forward - it gets them going in the right direction, with a certain amount of explosive momentum derived entirely from the service action (think Boris Becker or John McEnroe).
I really like the way Sharapova is tossing the ball, and once she gets her serving confidence back (maybe she has already; at the US Open, it was clear that she still had a long way to go), the only issue will be how well she, a woman who isn't the best mover in the game, can respond to a good returner's best shots. My guess is that she's banking on the serve to neutralize even the better returners, so that she won't have to deal with sizzling returns that demand she get to the ball quickly and take it on the rise. It's a somewhat risky trade off.
Jankovic is one of the better returners; she's got a great eye, a grooved stroke, and the requisite cat-like quickness. It will be interesting to see which shot will be more effective - Sharapova's serve, or Jankovic's return.
Okay, I'm heading out for the weekend soon, but Jackie-Oh will be back with a Deuce Club this evening, and you'll have a place to chat tomorrow and Sunday. This is a Your Call thread, but try to stay On Topic (Master Ace has a dispensation, though, to do his thing) until the subject of this post is played out. Have a great weekend, everyone!
-- Pete