Wimbledon Village doorway
LONDON – Maria Sharopova, the Siberian Siren, has been giving the cold shoulder to those who would beat her during this 125th Wimbledon. For two weeks she was pitching shutouts, along with her warbling, shrieking, ungenerously refusing to give up even one set. Twelve sets played; 12 sets won.
Maria had a 7-year itch, and was itching to cash in on it. Seven years ago, as a 17-year-old, she astounded the gamesplaying world by winning Wimbledon over none other than Sister Serena. Despite numerous injuries and shoulder surgery, she also won the Australian and US Opens. continue reading »
July 02 2011 | Wimbledon | 3 Comments »
Billie Jean, Anita and Bud celebrating her 1st "W" title, doubles with Karen Hantze in 1961
LONDON – “Where are those Williams sisters?” a Wimbledon ticket-holder asked me yesterday.
They lost in the fourth round, I replied.
“So what?” the guy, an American, persisted. “They’re as much a part of this place as strawberries, ivy and the Pimm’s Cups. It should be like our baseball with designated hitters. Just insert them automatically in the lineup, into the semifinals.”
Well, not quite. But a semifinals day without either Serena or Venus – or both of them – is like a Pimm’s No. 1 without the gin. Since 2000, when Venus won the first of her five titles, the “Sisters Sledgehammer” were principals in 10 finals out of 12 years, missing out on this year and 2006. continue reading »
June 30 2011 | Wimbledon | No Comments »
Unisphere with flowers
NEW YORK – Through one of his characters, Marcellus, a scribbler named Shakespeare said there was “something rotten in the state of Denmark.”
But if the Bard had been among 20,000-or-so ticket-holders at an open-air theatre called Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday, he might have reconsidered that line from his ancient soap, “Hamlet.”
He would have gazed down at a battleground of blue on which a fair lass named Caroline Wozniacki, was making friends for Denmark, her homeland. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t capable of doing rotten things to the other person sharing the US Open stage: Maria Sharapova.
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September 06 2010 | US Open | 1 Comment »
The dancing fountains in the South Plaza of the US Open grounds
NEW YORK – Heavy winds coursed across the abyss called Ashe Stadium, but they didn’t blow Beatrice Capra away. That job was left to Maria Sharapova, and she went at it devastatingly.
A blonde gale wrapped in an aqua gown, screaming like a cyclone, she was miserly Maria, unwilling to part with a single game as she whooshed into the second week of the US Open, chasing the title that she won four years ago. continue reading »
September 05 2010 | US Open | 1 Comment »
