UPDATE FROM PARIS @ THE FRENCH OPEN / SHARAPOVA SQUEAKS OUT THE WIN !

Written by: Staff on 3rd June 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

UPDATE FROM PARIS @ THE FRENCH OPEN / SHARAPOVA SQUEAKS OUT THE WIN !

epa04235726 Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after beating Samantha Stosur of Australia during their fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 01 June 2014. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA |

Serving It Up

By Cheryl Jones

For someone who swears she felt like a cow on ice each time she was competing on red clay only a few years ago, Maria Sharapova has made herself right at home on the surface, having won six of her last eight titles on terre battue. It has become her friend and a good friend indeed. Today, she managed a spectacular comeback after losing the first set to Garbine Muguruza, finally ending the match on the plus side, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

The match took nearly an hour longer than Sharapova’s average on this visit to Paris. The total match time was 2 hours and 6 minutes. The first twenty-seven minutes must have seemed excruciatingly long for the Russian because the young Spanish woman trounced her. Sharapova is often mistaken for an American because she has lived in the US for most of her life; first in Florida and then in California and now in Florida and California.

Maguruza became a professional in 2009. She was born in Venezuela and soon moved to Barcelona where she still resides. She has had a great year and has improved her standing since having an amazing tournament in Hobart (Australia) early in 2014 where she took home all the marbles. Alejo Mancisidor who spent a bit of time in Southern California when he competed for Pepperdine in the early 1990s coaches her.

Allen Fox, longtime former Pepperdine coach speaks glowingly of the Spanish mentor (who was an All-American), as a person and as an instructor. Mancisidor was a smart player who knew how to use everything he had to his advantage and it is certain that he carried it over as a guide to his charges. Maguruza speaks both Spanish and English and this will not be the last time she will be in the spotlight. Sharing center stage with Sharapova isn’t easy. She has been there for many years. It will be interesting to watch Maguruza who has real talent and a great support team, work her way up the ladder of women’s tennis.

There’s always been something magic about Sharapova. She has the most followers of any female athlete on Facebook, with 12.7 million fans and she has 940,000 followers on Twitter. She has a candy company called Sugarpova; she is a spokesperson for Porsche; has a huge Nike contract; and a contract with Kohl Hahn and the list continues. Her winnings will top $27,000,000 after Roland Garros ends. Her list of endorsements is lengthy and they add daily to her net worth. But, she loves tennis. She is a competitor who is tenacious and as was the case today, she never gives up.

She moves on to the semifinals and will face Eugenie Bouchard, the Canadian whiz kid who topped veteran Carla Suarez Navarro, 7‑6, 2‑6, 7‑5. She is a match for Sharapova in the grit category and the match-up in the semifinals should be more than entertaining. It will be a pleasure to see two women who have the composure of old pros face each other in an arena that is filled with the spirits of all the great champions of the past.

Wednesday, Italian standout, Sara Errani, will try her hand at unseating Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Errani has been playing exceedingly well over the past several years and always brings her A-game. She has the goods to carry her through to the semis and watch for her in the final where she ended up last year. Even though she is ranked 10 in the world, there is more to her than mere ranking. She has the patience and poise to carry on.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, another of the multitude of Russian women who always go deep into tournaments will face the Romanian standout Simona Halep who has catapulted herself into being the 4th best woman in the world.

I predict a semi contest that will feature Halep and Errani. But, no matter which way the scores fall, it will be tennis that has more than a smack the ball flavor. No matter which of them comes out on top, the semifinal matches will mean top of the line tennis.

The men are competing too. Today, Novak Djokovic defeated the first Canadian man in the Open Era to make it to the quarterfinals of any slam, ever. The 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 match was a see-saw battle that had everyone watching on the edge of their seat. Milos Raonic is a one of a kind player who is coached by Ivan Ljubicic, a Croatian who competed in the semifinals in Roland Garros in 2006. There will be more to come from the young man from Canada by way of Montenegro. He is a force to be reckoned with, as Novak Djokovic will surely agree.

The other match wasn’t quite so evenly contested. Ernests Gulbis, the Latvian who defeated Roger Federer showed Tomas Berdych the door when he controlled the match from the start to finish, 6‑3, 6‑2, 6‑4. He is a fierce competitor, but after the match had a happy attack and smiled and took his new found success at Roland Garros as a sign that he could move further up the line toward the top ten. He will face Djokovic in the semi-finals and even though Djokovic is the odds on favorite to go up against Rafael Nadal in the final.

Of course, Nadal will have to win his next match with Andy Murray who has been a stalwart player in the men’s game for quite a number of years. His stoic, no nonsense attitude (unless it’s his own) has the whole of Great Britain keeping their fingers crossed, hoping for a miracle. He could knock out Nadal, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. To Nadal, the final is almost a given.

Speaking of Murray, today his mother tweeted, “Sharapova is like a tea bag. Put her into hot water, and you’ll find out how strong she is.” Strange as it may sound, it was truly a testament to Sharapova’s mettle. She’s a fighter and she will be awaiting tomorrow’s match to see just what kind of tea she can make when the semis serve up hot water.

Topics: Andrea Petkovic, Andy Murray, Cheryl Jones, Ernests Gulbis, Eugenie Bouchard, French Open, Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sara Errani, Tennis, Tennis News

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June 3, 2014 at 7:51 pm

UPDATE FROM PARIS @ THE FRENCH OPEN / SHARAPOVA SQUEAKS OUT THE WIN ! – http://t.co/YA3YEgdnRK @MariaSharapova @rolandgarros #FrenchOpen