THE king may be temporarily indisposed – Roger Federer was rearranging his flight plans after a most unRoger-like loss to Novak Djokovic in Friday's semi final – but the queen is alive and kicking.
Queen Shazza, or Maria Sharapova as she is more formally known, is the new champion of Australia, having scythed through the draw without dropping a set and rounding off a majestic two weeks with a 7-5, 6-3 pounding of Ana Ivanovic.
A year ago, Sh
arapova was humiliated in the final by Serena Williams and allowed just three games. At the time it was hard to imagine that she could ever challenge the big hitters again – they had worked out how to play her and she could not cope with their fire power. But 12 months on and finally injury-free, the sight of Sharapova in full flight is simply terrifying.
But if Sharapova's return to her best is the talk of Melbourne Park, it is not the most important part of her life. In those 12 months since her last final, she has matured as a player but also learned a lot as a person. As she held the trophy aloft, she dedicated her victory to her coach's late mother, Jane Joyce, who died of ovarian cancer last spring.
At the time, Sharapova was struggling with a serious shoulder injury – and injured tennis players are no fun to be around. Like all individual sportsmen, they are self-centred and like all athletes, they are hypochondriacs, but Sharapova proved to be different. Michael Joyce has been her friend, her hitting partner and her coach since she was ten years old and as his mother's health deteriorated, Sharapova, her father Yuri and mother Yelena rallied round to do anything they could to help.
"Last year was tough for me," Sharapova said in front of the 15,000 in the Rod Laver Arena. "It was tough for my coach, Michael, who lost his mother. We lost a key part of our team. Whenever we are on court, it is always her name – Jane – we think of. And I want to dedicate this one to her. After that loss, I gained a new perspective on life. Tennis became so small.
"She was one of the closest people to me and my family to pass away. Those last few months when I was injured, it gave me so much perspective, taught me to prioritise. She is always in my mind."
Sharapova awoke on Saturday morning to a text message from Billie Jean King. "Champions take chances," it read. "Pressure is a privilege." It was very nice of King to send such words of encouragement, but she really did not need to bother. She was preaching to the converted.
Throughout her stay here, Sharapova has been focused, fearless and ferocious, mopping up the pressure and taking calculated risks when necessary. This is the sort of form she knew was within her reach once her body matured, her injuries cleared and she had a little bit of experience behind her. While her critics berated her for failing to kick on and win every major title after winning Wimbledon in 2004, she was happy to bide her time and wait for nature to take its course. She simply had to grow into her talent.
That development process is still on-going but the progress she has made since last season is impressive. From the moment she dismissed Lindsay Davenport for the loss of four games in the second round, she had the look of a champion and by the time she reached the final she was in regal form.
Shrieking on every shot from the first ball – always a sure sign that she means business – she would not allow anyone or anything to get in her way. When the chair umpire had the temerity to overrule a line call – he thought the ball was good, the linesman and Sharapova thought otherwise – she immediately challenged the decision with Hawk-Eye. And Sharapova was proved to be right. There was only one boss on court on Saturday, and Enric Molina, the hapless umpire, was not it.
Ivanovic did what she could, but she was always trailing in Sharapova's wake. When she reached her first grand slam final, she froze against Justine Henin at the French Open last summer. She promised then that she would learn from the experience and, sure enough, she did not choke this time, but she still had nothing with which to hurt her opponent.
Only when Sharapova's serve went off the boil midway through the first set did Ivanovic have a chance. Throwing in three double faults – the last one on break point – the Russian looked ever so slightly vulnerable. This, then, was the moment to pounce. Alas, Ivanovic fluffed it and, trying to apply pressure to Sharapova's next service game, she floated a drop shot into the bottom of the net. The look on her face spoke volumes – Sharapova would not give her another opportunity like that and the match was all but over.
It left the new champion one French Open title shy of a career grand slam – and Sharapova is still only 20. On past performances, that clay court win should be pencilled in for 2010 as she has been collecting major trophies every other year since winning Wimbledon (she won the US Open in 2006). But on the evidence of her efforts here, she appears ready to take the next step and start challenging Henin at the top of the rankings and settling in for a long spell as the best in the world. Sharapova, though, was making no promises.
"I don't think that I'm quite physically and experienced enough to do that," she said. "I know I've already won three grand slams. I know I keep saying this, but I don't think I'm at the peak of my career yet. I don't think my body has 100 per cent developed into its own. I've got many more things to learn in my tennis, and many things to build and improve. That takes time. It's not an overnight process.
"It's something that I look forward to. No matter how many tough times or bad days I'm going to have, as long as I wake up in the morning and can't wait to get that tennis racquet out of my bag, I'll always be looking forward to improving."
And with that she was off to take care of one last piece of business before her stay in Australia was over. At the start of the tournament, her father was given a camouflage hoodie by Nike and, being a superstitious soul, he has worn it or taken it to every match ever since.
It is a sartorial style of which Sharapova does not approve – "he looks like an assassin," she moaned – while the local media have had a field day, printing endless pictures of the brooding presence at the side of the court. It was time for something to be done. "I'm actually going to burn his jacket," Sharapova announced.
The queen was back in business and even mad, bad Yuri had cause to be concerned.
TSONGA REALISES DREAMSOUT of the blue, men's tennis has witnessed the evolution of a new star in the last two weeks in Melbourne. Today, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, unknown to many before the tournament, takes on Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final (British Eurosport 8.15am; BBC2 8.30am).
For the 22-year-old Le Mans resident, the Australian Open final will represent two landmark moments. Not only will he play in his first ever Grand Slam final, his parents will watch him for the first time live in the tournament, all because of a conversation he had with his father when the first round draw was made.
"My father said to me that he would only come to Australia and watch me if I got to the final, as it has always been his dream to come here," said Tsonga. "He said 'OK, if you get there, we will come'. And so, here I am, in the final, and they are coming. I am so happy that they will be here, it will be one of the most beautiful days of my life."
Not many people had even heard of Tsonga, let alone envisaged him getting to the final before the tournament started. Most saw him as an opponent who would be seen off by Andy Murray.
His surprise first-round win over the Scot has been the foundation to his two-week blitz of the top seeds.
"I haven't changed my preparation at all since the first round. I will be relaxed and I will go out and play my own game."
The No.3 seed Djokovic will not faze the Frenchman, who has already culled Murray, Richard Gasquet, Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Youzhny en route to the final. "The man that I am playing isn't that important, I've always had the tendency to concentrate on myself. I'm not surprised though that I am meeting Novak. He's a dangerous opponent, very comfortable on this surface. He is desperate to win his first Grand Slam."
The two have never met in a competitive match and Djokovic has not lost a set in the previous rounds. He goes into the final as favourite, although Tsonga, all throughout this tournament, has made a mockery of such predictions.
MARK ATKINSONThe full article contains 1583 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
