CHERYL JONES REPORTS IN FROM PARIS ON KIDS DAY AT THE FRENCH OPEN AND CHANGES COURTS TO GIVE US HER PERSPECTIVE ON MARIA SHARAPOVA

Written by: Staff on 27th May 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

CHERYL JONES REPORTS IN FROM PARIS ON KIDS DAY AT THE FRENCH OPEN AND CHANGES COURTS TO GIVE US HER PERSPECTIVE ON MARIA SHARAPOVA

epa04769847 Maria Sharapova of Russia in action against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2015. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Kid’s Day Musings

By Cheryl Jones

Wednesday at Roland Garros was Kids’ Day. Face paint was in abundance and skipping, smiling youngsters filled the crowded pathways on the grounds that are consistently on the verge of overflowing. Watching the youngsters, it’s never quite clear if it’s the joy of an outing or the actual tennis that brings on the excitement. Likely, it’s a bit of both.

Over the years, many youngsters have joined the professional ranks barely into their teens. Jennifer Capriati was thirteen when she entered the rarified sphere of pro tennis. She won her first tournament just a month shy of her fourteenth birthday. Her skill was mature; but her nature was not. She was still a child. She said then that she had more in common with the ball kids than the throngs of adult players. Her father, Stefano, ruled her world – every part of it. She was caught up in an existence that was beyond her and somehow, she was never able to catch up with the reality of a world outside tennis. It was sad to watch her fade into oblivion, only to return and perform well for a short time – then disappear once again, only to end up as tabloid news with a thwarted attempted suicide just a few years ago. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. The honor was fitting and was a testament to her superb skill on the tennis court. Life now may be on the upswing as she has been a “tweeting” messages of peace and love of late. She’s thirty-nine years old and peace and love should be her constant companion. She deserves that much. She’s certainly earned it.

Moving forward a few years on the tennis front, and a young girl from Russia came on the scene. It was Maria Sharapova. She was a very talented young player and Martina Navratilova had given her father some good advice that changed young Maria’s life. I first met her when she was fourteen. Her coach (Robert Landsdorp) had wanted to show off one of his star pupils even though she had already shown promise before she moved on from her days at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida. (I must add that it was worth the long Saturday morning drive on the freeways of Los Angeles to have a look-see at the leggy youngster, who was not quite a woman – yet.) It was obvious that she was most definitely a talent that would be worth keeping an eye on.

Sharapova’s father, Yuri, was the mastermind behind his talented daughter’s career at that time. It’s been well documented how hard he worked – even washing dishes at restaurants – and all the sacrifices the entire family made in order to afford young Maria the training that she would need to become a first rate player. Sharapova was a quick study. At seventeen, she took home the Venus Rosewater Dish (Wimbledon’s women’s singles trophy).

Yuri was his daughter’s constant companion on the tour for a long time. He had a different way of directing his daughter than Stefano Capriati had utilized. She was first his daughter; then he was her coach. It was apparent in Australia in the mid-2000s when she was nearly delirious with the heat and the exhaustion. He did what any parent would do. From the stands, he directed her to eat a banana. She was his little girl and she was suffering with more than mere confusion. Of course the direction from “her coach” cost him a warning from the umpire, but at that point he didn’t seem to care. He was her parent and she needed to have something to help her contend with the cramping and near delirium.

Soon after that he stepped back from the coaching role with his daughter. Michael Joyce took the reins. Now, it’s Sven Groeneveld that’s been providing direction. The partnership seems to be working quite well. Today, it took Maria Sharapova an hour and twenty minutes to send a Russian countrywoman back to the drawing board.

It was the first time Vitalia Diatchenko had been across the net from Sharapova. The match took an hour and twenty minutes to complete. Quickly, the score came up 6-3, 6-1 and the women took their leave of Court Philippe Chatrier. Sharapova was successful once again. She was last year’s champ and the now 28 year old who had previously complained that she moved like a cow on ice on the terre battue, had moved another rung closer to this year’s Roland Garros coveted prize.

Maria Sharapova of Russia in action against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia during their second round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 27 May 2015. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Success is something Sharapova is familiar with. She’s got her own upscale candy line – Sugarpova; has taken home a singles title every year since 2003; has entered the rarified air with the likes of Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert with a Grand Slam (winning a title in each of the majors); was named one of the thirty legends of women’s tennis by Time Magazine; and was featured as one of the Tennis Channel’s 100 best tennis players of all time. That’s not all – (she has lived up to the expectations of Landsdorp, who once told her that if the tennis didn’t work out, she could always be a runway model) – she has graced the covers of numerous prestigious magazines – Glamour, Conde Nast Traveler, Harper’s Bazaar, Self, Shape, Esquire and many, many more. She is the most popular female athlete in the world right now, with more than twenty million fans on a multitude of social media sites.

The busy woman has also taken on serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, donating hundreds of thousands to areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster of 1986 and much more. With all of this information, it is a certainty that the reader has the picture. She is an unbelievable young woman who has let nothing stand in the way of her continuing goals to remain at the top of the tennis world. A shoulder injury kept her away from the game for a bit, but just like the Energizer bunny, she keeps on ticking and has become better than before.

This child of Yuri has grown into a capable adult. Maria Sharapova is one of the most successful businesswomen of the twenty-first century. And that’s not just because of the guidance she received growing up, but because Yuri knew when to let go. There’s more to being a parent than merely giving children life. Freedom is the gift that keeps on giving. And that goes for pretty much everyone – day in and day out. Kid’s Day can be everyday! The results are matchless.

Topics: Cheryl Jones, French Open, kids day, Maria Sharapova, Paris, RG15, Roland Garros, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

May 27, 2015 at 12:05 pm

CHERYL JONES REPORTS IN ON #KidsDay AT THE #FrenchOpen AND GIVES US HER PERSPECTIVE ON @MariaSharapova http://t.co/v81UbuBMhy #RG15 #Paris