- photo by Art Seitz
Polish Power: Asa Radwanska tops Sharapova to Win Sony Ericsson
Going into the Sony Ericsson Open there were a boatload of big story lines. The return to WTA play of the beloved Kim Clijsters and the charismatic Williams sisters and the seemingly dominant play of Aussie and BNP Paribas Open champ Victoria Azarenka.
But Jersey mama Clijsters fell to her fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer and then sparked perhaps bogus rumors that she wouldn’t ever play again.
Venus Williams, who has been dealing with Sjokgren’s syndrome, played for the first time in seven months and beat reigning Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and three other matches, before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters. Her sister Serena was impressive in a kind of grudge match in the fourth round against none other than Aussie Sam Stosur, who had dismissed Serena in last year’s tumultuous U.S. Open final. But in Miami, a fierce Serena blasted 20 aces and prevailed 7-5, 6-3 before losing to Caroline Wozniacki, who was then dismissed by Radwanska in the semis. As for Azarenka, she extended her undefeated streak for ’11 to 26, before France’s Marion Bartoli dumped her 6-3, 6-3.
Translation: by the time the tourney reached the final, all the big storylines had vanished as veteran Maria Sharapova, would face the Krakow cracker Radwanska (whose four losses this year all came at the hands of Azarenka.)
Never mind that Maria seemed to prevail in a verbal joust in Melbourne. (When Radwanska criticized grunting, proud Maria quipped, “Hasn’t she gone back to Poland yet?”) And never mind that No. 2 in the world Maria can still unleash a serve that can sting, that she can control the fate of most of her matches and that this would already be her third big final of the year. And yes, going in she dominated Radwanska in their previous meetings, 9-1.
But on this Florida day “Aga,” perhaps the best No. 4 you have barely heard of, was told by her coach to “twist Maria’s legs up.” And she did.
She dominated with her smarts, flexibility, quickness and error-free steadiness. She impressed Mary Carillo, who said the pesky Pole had a court savvy suggestive of Martina Hingis. “She’s quiet and doesn’t leave any finger prints,” noted Carillo.
But actually “Asa” left quite a mark. She broke Maria deep into each of the first two sets, and her 7-5, 6-4 win was her second title of the year (along with Dubai), and the triumph was by far the biggest of her career. Now she must be considered a serious contender in an interesting, wide-open women’s field led by Azarenka, but still crowded with questions: Can anyone dominate? Can mid-career Sharapova win a Slam, and can any of the old, close-to-retirement champs still collect big wins? And will women’s tennis again produce a sizzling must-see rivalry?
Stay tuned.
