[新聞]Indian Wells: Sharapova and Fed Cup

看板Sharapova作者jcshie (JC)時間17年前 (2008/03/15 11:11)推噓0(0推 0噓 1→)

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簡單說就是聯邦盃四強，看到莎娃出賽的機會可能不大，俄羅斯主場應該會選擇紅土，改由 Kuznetsova 領銜出戰。 Posted 03/14/2008 @ 3 :01 AM http://tennisworld.typepad.com/travelblogue/2008/03/indian-wells-sh.html There's the long-standing question of why Fed Cup is such an anemic version of the men's Davis Cup, but ultimately it's because the event will only matter to others if it matters to the players -- and it mostly doesn't. That translates into erratic participation by the stars, sometimes precipitated only by Olympic eligibility requirements. In recent years, there have been a few ties that really had the potential to kick-start interest in Fed Cup. There was USA vs. Belgium in in 2004 and 2005, which might have featured Williams sisters vs. the 'Belgian sisters' (as Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters were christened by Jennifer Capriati). Instead, none were present in 2004. And in 2005, both Williamses and Lindsay Davenport ended up massacring a Belgian team playing without either of its superstars. Then there was Russia vs. Belgium in 2006, which was a pretty good contest with a full-strength Belgian team and Nadia Petrova and Elena Dementieva playing for Russia -- but just lacked the little oomph that would have been added with Maria Sharapova's participation. The Russia vs. France final in 2005 was a cracker -- for drama is not for quality of play -- but hardly anyone got to see it. (That brings us to the other big problem of Fed Cup -- and Davis Cup too.) The latest potential blockbuster is Russia hosting the US in April's semifinals. The members of the US team are unknown, though there's a chance it could have both the sisters present -- Serena Williams technically still has a tie to play before she's eligible for the Olympics. But on Wednesday at Indian Wells, Sharapova said she wasn't planning to take part, removing the intriguing prospect of finally watching her play for her home country against the country she's lived in most of her life. "I'm very doubtful. It's going to be on clay and I think Sveta is going to take care of that one," said Sharapova. "We kind of had an agreement actually. With Sveta, just when the draw had come out back last year, she said, 'You're going to Israel, and I'm going to play the next time.' I'm like, 'not really giving me a choice here, are you?' Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev recently said he would probably chose clay as the surface if Kuznetsova played and hardcourt if Sharapova played, and Sharapova was presuming clay on Wednesday. "I think it just depends on who feels right for the team at that point, and on clay, I certainly think, having a team that's better prepared on clay," she said, asked to justify the decision. "If someone pulls out and can't play, I'm happy to go and play." It sounds like the one tie will be enough to secure her Olympic spot, though theoretically players have to make themselves available at least twice before they become eligible for the Games. Still, her Fed cup debut against Israel was probably memorable enough to last the whole year. First, severe storms kept the team cooped up for a few days after arriving. "I watched, like, 10 movies a day there because I couldn't leave my hotel, none of the players could leave," she said. "I thought the windows were going to blow... They said it was like the worst storm they had in 25 years." Then there was the first public practice, where Sharapova was mobbed even before leaving the car. "I mean like 2,000 people are getting on the car and they were going inside.. and it was like, 'wow, Maria, Maria, Maria.' she said. "And when you got on court, it was like 20,000 people [making noise] before you serve, and yelling [against you]. This is the same crowd that famously imitated Sharapova's grunting during her opening match (clever or cruel -- you be the judge). Overall, they were rowdy and partisan enough to earn a rebuke from an Israeli IOC member. And if the length at which Sharapova talked about the crowd is any indication, thy made quite an impression. "There are also a lot of Russians there, but 99 percent of the crowd was pro-Israeli, which is understandable. It was loud. None of the girls -- we talked about it a lot -- and none of them had ever experienced anything like it." "To get through that and to win is really cool. "You see 99 percent of the crowd rooting against you, but deep inside you know they have respect for all the players because the whole stadium is full, and just incredible atmostphere. And for every athlete that plays, that's what you play for, because when you see a full stadium and when you see everyone cheering, it really brings out the best in you." She also learned something for the future. "I wish we had a drum there. I'm bringing one to the next Fed Cup. " The more interesting question for Sharapova these days is, of course, how she's made such a successful start ot this year after struggling most of last season. She's 14-0 to start the year, including the Australian Open, Fed Cup, and Doha. Her shoulder woes are over, and being injury-free seems to have been a mental release as well. "It's not so much the confidence, I think I'm just happy. I know that sounds weird, but I'm just in a happy place in my career and in my life as well," she said. It's a sign of how well things have been going that she felt it necessary to add a caveat. "I have great people around me and right now it's been smooth. But I'm pretty realistic and I'm very aware it's not going to be like that every day. It's not like every day I'm going to wake up and be in such a good mood." Maybe it was because she'd just been reminded that is a year when it's possible to achieve a Golden Slam. Her eyebrows shot up behind the razor-sharp bangs. "Let's not get carried away." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.166.113.247 ※ 編輯: jcshie 來自: 118.166.113.247 (03/15 11:21)