I agree with your analysis of her tennis (and her eyes). ;)
Maria doesn't have the grace or the repertoire or the court sense or the natural ability of a Federer, say. (But who does?) She isn't the best moving forward, i.e., approaching the net, etc.
But she's good moving laterally and she has power--her height gives her reach and leverage.
Most of all, she has determination, an offensive mindset, precision and guts: She will not hesitate to go for the offensive shot and corners in a big point.
It is the last item that, IMO, separates the top-10 from so many of equal or even greater ability on the pro circuit.
As for your comment about a centered life, I question the judgment of her handlers--(her father?)--witness the "I feel pretty" ad; catchy and clever work better with a tad less conceit.
Mia, Mia, Mia! I didn't know, along with your artistic and literary genius with the Clintons, that you knew tennis too! Darn, I want to marry you. This is too great!
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I agree with your post. I did not like the "I feel pretty" ad either. It was just wrong and made her come off as a girl with a big head. They should not have done it.
By the way, she is NOT a girl with a big head at all!
She is the "geek" among her close friends, and they make fun of her because she is an avid stamp collector and loves to read all the time.
She is one of a kind!
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From about a year ago: ---
She said the other day while walking down Beverly Hills' swank Rodeo drive, she felt completely out of place. "That's not where I come from," she said. "I know I'm popular and I know people recognize me, but I don't relate to that lifestyle. "I walk around there and shop, but I don't feel like this is me. That's not where I come from."
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I love the following!
"On the court she reminded me of the margay, a small wild cat, like a miniature leopard, that lives in the jungles of Central America. Her emerald-green eyes had the look of a creature who you knew would never quite belong to anyone but herself. She was still only “peanut-sized”, as her father, Yuri, called her, with long, skinny legs and arms, corn-blonde hair, braces on her teeth and a dusting of freckles on her nose. But when she went to strike the ball, her little cat-face would bunch into a snarl, her body would coil itself like a spring behind her racket, she would hurl herself at the ball and, with an ear-splitting banshee scream that sent shivers down your spine, unleash a laser-guided ground stroke." - Simon Worrall
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No girl in the history of tennis had hit a tennis ball as hard as Maria Sharapova. As Bollettieri, who has masterminded the careers of plenty of hard-hitters, including Monica Seles and Mary Pierce, eloquently put it: “She beats the f****** crap out of the ball.”
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"A lot of people are saying I am pretty, I have a good figure and all that," she said. "I know a lot of fans also like me because of my looks. But my target is to make a mark in the world of tennis as a great player."
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JUST ONE GOOD GIRL!
And again, Mia, it's great to know that you are into tennis and Maria.
wow
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http://sport.guardian.co.uk/wimbledon2006/story/0,,1809508,00.html
Supercool Sharapova is outed as a closet 'dork'
Eleanor Preston ---- Friday June 30, 2006
(snip) --It is perhaps surprising to hear that Maria Sharapova has more than a passing interest in philately, because somehow the thought of her being a stamp collector in her spare time seems at odds with her image as tennis's supercool fashionista.
After brushing aside Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-2 to earn a place in the third round yesterday, Sharapova was faced with a series of probing questions on her hobby and for a second she almost seemed flustered.
"Oh, God, stop. Everyone's calling me a dork now," she said, before revealing, semi-seriously, that her agent had banned her from talking about it for fear that her sponsors might start frantically searching for geekiness clauses in her endorsement contracts.
"We're getting emails from, like, stamp collecting magazines asking if I can do an interview. I mean, it's just a hobby," said Sharapova. "I'm actually good at telling stories but that is one I should have never talked about.
Oh, my goodness. Let's get off this subject, because I'm going to be an absolute geek tomorrow." It is somehow reassuring to think that Sharapova has a nerdy side that she is anxious to conceal. Being outed as a stamp collector was about the only time she showed any sign of vulnerability yesterday.
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LOL........... I really like this young lady.
I love the "I feel pretty" ad.
The song is from West Side Story, which is set in New York City, and is about a girl named Maria. The commercial is set at the U.S. Open, which takes place in New York City, and features a tennis player named Maria.
People talk about how beautiful Maria is while forgetting sometimes that she has game. Note that Maria doesn't sing the song, but everyone she encounters does. Note that the singing continues right on through to the first serve of the match which Maria returns with authority to win the point, and then it stops.
Pretty? Sure. But Maria can bring it.
