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Post by Admin on May 30, 2014 22:01:28 GMT
On a quiet day at the French Open, the always entertaining, mostly thoughtful but often foot-in-the-mouth-prone Ernests Gulbis made waves with comments about women in tennis. Though the uproar has mostly focused on an uproar that never arrived, Gulbis’ comments have drawn enough attention that some of the game’s other top stars have been compelled to respond. “It’s a tough choice of life,” Gulbis said after his third round win over Radek Stepanek. “A woman needs to enjoy life a little bit more. Needs to think about family, needs to think about kids. What kids you can think about until age of 27 if you’re playing professional tennis. That’s tough for a woman, I think.” Maria Sharapova: I mean, I don’t think we can take everything serious when he speaks. (Laughs) I mean, let’s be honest with that. I think he’s great entertainment and we love to listen to what he has to say. But, I mean, of course, you have different opinions. In a way, I think he was joking, but he’s playing the sport, so how bad can it be? If he felt so bad about it, an even if he’s a male, I don’t think he’d be playing it. I think the sport brings so many opportunities to women. I mean, it’s brought me so many things into my life and my career. I don’t regret any step that I have taken. I mean, but then, on the other hand, sometimes I wake up and think, well, I don’t want this on my kids. (Laughs) But then when I’m paying the matches, I’m in front of thousands of people and the experience that this sports brings, I think, of course I want my kids to do this. This is such a huge lesson in life. Maria Sharapova cruises past Ormaechea 60 60 to set up a Roland Garros R16 showdown vs Sam Stosur!
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Post by Admin on May 31, 2014 23:17:07 GMT
In perhaps one of the matches of the matches of the tournament so far, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated fifth seed Petra Kvitova in three sets to book a place in the fourth round. With the first set taking over an hour itself, the pair played cat and mouse on the court, with Kvitova establishing the early break lead, only for Kuznetsova to win three games on the bounce to regain the advantage. On the pushed with Kvitova fighting back to force a tie-break where again she surged to an early lead, only to be pegged back by the Russian, before Kvitova reeled off the next few points to seal the first set. Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic lost in the third round Saturday, beaten 6-3, 6-3 by 23rd-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. Ivanovic, a former No. 1 seeded 11th, won the title at Roland Garros in 2008, and lost in the final the year before. Safarova, meanwhile, came into the day with only a 2-7 record in third-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments and only once, in 2007, made it as far as the fourth round at the French Open. But she improved to 5-2 against Ivanovic, who could not find the mark Saturday. Ivanovic finished with 30 unforced errors, 12 more than Safarova.
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Post by Admin on Jun 1, 2014 21:55:50 GMT
Inspired upset bids had been a dime a dozen, but unlike many of the other top players, this one survived - Maria Sharapova fought off an in-form Sam Stosur at the French Open, coming within points of going out before turning the match around and cruising into the quarters. Though Sharapova dominated her head-to-head with Stosur, the threat level was high - not only had Stosur already beaten another Top 10 player this tournament, Dominika Cibulkova, but this is arguably her best surface, and this was also the first time the two players squared off at a Grand Slam. "I thought Sam played a really good first set. With that said, I had five break points and I didn't convert one of them," Sharapova said after the match. "Against a player who's a very good server and who uses her serve as a weapon to set up points out there, if you don't take advantage of those particular moments, she gains a lot of confidence from that and swings and just keeps serving well too. And it was unfortunate that I gave that break back in the second set, because I thought I had a good start, but overall I'm happy with the way I finished. I think that's the most important thing."
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Post by Admin on Jun 6, 2014 21:59:14 GMT
In the first women's semifinal at the French Open, No. 7 Maria Sharapova lost the first set -- no surprise there -- against Eugenie Bouchard, the ascendant Canadian and No. 18 seed. Bouchard essentially out-Sharapova'ed Sharapova. She moved better, dictated play from the baseline and served with more pace -- more than 10 mph on average. But, despite her slight physique, Sharapova is tennis' equivalent of the Hulk. Getting in a few early licks just makes her mad. In a word, she is tenacious. For the third straight match, she transformed herself in the second set. Taking advantage of a slight drop in Bouchard's play -- and overcoming a few hiccups, letting a 5-2 lead wither to 5-5 -- Sharapova seized the second. She then grabbed an early third-set lead and never relinquished it, closing out a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory. The 2012 champion will play No. 4 Simona Halep for the title on Saturday. Halep has been nearly unflappable in Paris. Simona who? you ask. Since the third round, Halep has been the highest remaining seed in the women's draw. The 22-year-old from Romania didn't lose more than seven games -- much less a set -- in her first five matches, simply carving through the field. And while Halep is in bottom quartile of the field in terms of height and weight, she doesn't play like it. Generating tremendous torque, sometimes leaving both feet to hit, Halep gives as good as she gets from the baseline. Her serve is tricky and she plays angles deftly. And yet the lightness on her feet enables her to be among very elite movers and defenders in the game. The women's final pits a heavyweight, Sharapova, against a welterweight, Halep. First, the contrasts: Sharapova, 27, is considerably older -- five years, which is a generation in tennis terms -- and more experienced. She is playing in her ninth Grand Slam final and gunning for her fifth title; Saturday will be a new experience for Halep. Sharapova has won 31 titles; Halep has seven, though all have come in the last year. Halep moves better; Sharapova's game is bigger. Halep is quiet; Sharapova, not so much. They both have exceptional backhands, but Halep defends better and her level doesn't vary as much. Sharapova is 3-0 against Halep, including a three-set victory on clay last month at the Madrid Open. Again, Sharapova dropped the first set and came back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. (To her credit, Halep has spoken openly about letting the match get away and craving revenge.) “We played a few weeks ago,” Sharapova said, “and it was a very, very tough match. I was happy to get through that one [to win the Madrid title], because we hadn’t played in a long time. “Her level has definitely increased in the last year. With the way she’s been playing, she’s always a difficult player to play against. I think she’s playing really well. She hasn’t dropped a set this tournament. In the last year she’s proven that’s she’s able to have great results consistently. And in terms of ranking and where she’s positioning herself, I think that’s a very great quality in a player, to be able to be so consistent from week in week out.” Sharapova added: “Despite all that, I’m in a grand slam final. No matter who is across the net, it feels a great opportunity for the both of us. I’ll be there until the very last point.”
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Post by Admin on Jun 7, 2014 21:04:08 GMT
Sharapova was up to the task. In an entertaining and undulating championship match — the first women's final at Roland Garros in 13 years to go three sets — Sharapova showed that she's as tough as they come, particularly on the red clay that used to flummox her. She edged Halep 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 Saturday to win a second French Open title in three years. "This is the toughest Grand Slam final I've ever played," Sharapova said. The 3-hour, 2-minute tangle featured too many momentum swings to count, filled with lengthy baseline exchanges, and terrific defense and shotmaking by both women. Not bad for someone who once famously described herself as feeling like a "cow on ice" when it came to playing on clay, a slow, demanding surface that requires excellent footwork. Now Sharapova knows how to move on clay, and can stretch points when needed. Since the start of 2012, Sharapova is 54-4 with seven titles on clay. She's also won 20 consecutive clay three-setters, including four in a row this week. "It says that she's very fit. It says that she's very determined," said Sven Groenefeld, Sharapova's coach. "And it says that she never gives up." Sharapova is 20-1 the last three years at Roland Garros — which is nothing compared to Rafael Nadal's 65-1 career French Open mark heading into Sunday's final Sunday against Novak Djokovic, but certainly quite impressive. "You're not just born being a natural clay-court player. OK, maybe if you're Nadal. But certainly not me," Sharapova said. "I didn't grow up on it; didn't play on it. I just took it upon myself to make myself better on it." At 4-3 in the second set, Sharapova held two break points, but Halep saved both with gutsy groundstrokes. In the tiebreaker, Sharapova got within two points of victory at 5-3, but Halep took the next four to claim the set. That's when Sharapova left for the locker room, taking an 8-minute break during which she changed out of her sweat-soaked outfit — and let Halep stew for a bit. Sharapova went ahead 4-2, but Halep broke back to 4-all. It turned out that was her last stand, though. Sharapova wouldn't lose another point, gritting her teeth and shaking her fists after breaking at love for 5-4 with a backhand winner, then holding at love by forcing a backhand error from Halep on match point. When it ended, Sharapova dropped to her knees, caking her shins with clay, and folded her body forward, burying her face in her hands.
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