Maria Sharapova beats Ana Ivanovic to win Australian Open for her 3rd Grand Slam title

By PAUL ALEXANDER, Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2008


MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- When Maria Sharapova walked on court for the Australian Open final, she kept thinking about the sage advice of another champion.

"Champions take chances, and pressure is a privilege," Billie Jean King had written in a text message that Sharapova saw when she woke up.

"I took mine," fifth-ranked Sharapova said after beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 Saturday for her third Grand Slam title.

Sharapova, who didn't lose a set in seven matches, was clearly determined that nothing would stop her after winning only three games against Serena Williams in last year's final.

She was over a shoulder problem that plagued her last year. She was hitting winners with regularity. Her focus never wavered, even when her usually dependable serve briefly let her down.

She wasn't as sharp as when she ended top-ranked Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak in the quarterfinals or beat No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. But there was no doubt she deserved to win.

"I did the things I needed to do in order to win the match," Sharapova said, making it sound a lot more simple than it was.

Ivanovic, who at 20 is the same age as Sharapova and will rise to No. 2 when the new rankings come out, was left to find a silver lining.

"I'm still young and I still think I have a lot of Grand Slam finals in front of me," she said. "It hurts a bit now, but I'm sure I can learn from it."

Now Serbia's hopes for a title here rest with No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who faces unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, the tournament's big surprise, in the men's final Sunday evening.

Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram became the first Israeli doubles pairing to win a Grand Slam when they outlasted Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement 7-5 7-6 (4) Saturday.

Sharapova's 2004 Wimbledon title made her only the second Russian woman to win a major -- just weeks after Anastasia Myskina captured the French Open.

Her win over Ivanovic was the fifth major by a Russian woman.

Sharapova first met King, winner of 39 singles and doubles Grand Slam titles, at a juniors tournament when she was 13 or 14.

"From that point on, she's just always been really supportive," Sharapova said. "She's always one of the first people to text me when either I'm having a tough moment or a great win."

She woke up to King's inspirational text message.

"I had those great words in my mind during the match," she said, adding that when it was over, she got another message: "Congratulations. You did great."

On a hot, mostly sunny day, Sharapova retreated to the shade behind the baselines between points. It was Australia Day, so organizers put small national flags at each seat, but there were plenty of Serbian and Russian flags, too.

Both players showed some nerves; Sharapova was simply more consistent. She had only two more winners than Ivanovic, but less than half as many as the Serbian's 33 unforced errors.

"I knew I had to be aggressive, and that type of game will obviously cause more mistakes," Ivanovic said.

Serving at 2-2 in the first set, Ivanovic set up double break point with a double fault, then sent a forehand long.

After holding serve the first three times at love, Sharapova committed three double faults while serving at 4-3 to hand the game to Ivanovic.

She shrugged off the setback, running off the last three games, rallying from 0-30 as she served for the set.

"I didn't get impatient," Sharapova said. "She's two points away from winning the first set in a Grand Slam final. If you want it, take it. And she didn't."

From 3-3 in the second set, Sharapova ran off the last three games again, breaking Ivanovic for the fourth time to finish the match.

Sharapova dropped to her knees and appeared to be fighting back tears as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd. She shook hands and exchanged high fives with her father and supporters.

Sharapova wished her mother, Yelena, a happy birthday and told her how she planned to spend some of her $1.2 million in prize money.

"With this big, fat check, I'm going to send you a bunch of roses," she said. "Last year I lost on her birthday and this year I said I'm going to make it up to her, and I did."

The Russian star said when her coach and hitting partner Michael Joyce's mother died, it helped her cope with the hard times.

Every time she went out to play or practice "Jane was the name we were thinking about," Sharapova said. "I want to dedicate this win to her because after the loss (Joyce) suffered, I got a whole lot of perspective with my injuries and setbacks.

"It helped me prioritize so many things that were outside of tennis."

Mixed Doubles - Final


[5] T Sun (CHN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d S Mirza (IND) / M Bhuapthi (IND) 76(4) 64

Best Quotes from Down Under

MELBOURNE, Australia - The tennis wasn't the only one speaking volumes this year at the Australian Open; whether they were making us believe, think or just plain laugh, the players certainly made themselves heard at their post-match press conferences. Below are some of the best quotes of the fortnight, in no particular order - enjoy!

"I've proven it before. I've done it before. I don't think you can ever count me out. No matter how confident or not, no matter where my ranking is, I'm one of the toughest competitors out there. I never leave the court without giving 100% and that's why I gain respect from my fans and from the tennis audience. This is what I love to do."

- Maria Sharapova, at her pre-Australian Open press conference, on her chances of winning the tournament.
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"Never. Don't dream about it."

- Justine Henin on whether or not she would ever demonstrate some hip-hop moves after one of her matches. The world No.1 has started taking lessons once a week from her fitness coach for fun and relaxation.
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"I've always enjoyed a challenge, and it's been a huge challenge to come back after having a baby. It's been a lot of fun to try and see what I can accomplish now, being older and having my body go through a little bit of a metamorphosis. But it's been a lot of fun, because it's been so long since I've been on my way up and trying to improve and trying to go up the rankings. I missed playing, I miss the daily goal of having something to strive for. Obviously I'll be having some setbacks and didn't play well here, but overall I'm still having fun, so why not?"

- Lindsay Davenport reflects on her comeback after a second round loss to Maria Sharapova.
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"Basically the day session went longer, and the tournament asked if Sania and I would consider playing at Vodafone or playing tomorrow. Both of us didn't want to for reasons that we felt like our match was important. We also felt like we wanted the schedule to go as planned, and that we are very good players and wanted to play. Also for the fact that we were in doubles and Sania is also in mixed. So that makes it very difficult for us too. The tournament definitely listened to us and gave us the opportunity to go out there and play some great women's tennis. I think we're both happy with the result of what the tournament chose, and we played some good tennis for the crowd."

- Venus Williams on the scheduling controversy from the middle weekend, where matches on Rod Laver Arena went later than planned due to rain and her match with Sania Mirza went on according to the original order of play.
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"After winning all four Grand Slams, I kind of retired. I felt like it's time to move on and focus on my singles."

- Daniela Hantuchova on why she wasn't in the mixed doubles draw. In 2005, the Slovak became the second woman in the Open Era, after Martina Navratilova, to complete the career Grand Slam in the event.
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"In my eyes I'm representing my country all the time. I'm from India. Everyone knows I'm from India. I'm playing for my country. Yes, it's an individual sport and everything, but I think people associate us by our country. It does change a little bit when you have India written behind you and they say advantage India instead of advantage Mirza. And for me, personally it's a very proud feeling to play for my country. It's a very proud feeling when they say advantage India. I love it."

- Sania Mirza on playing for her country.
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"Since I was young girl, I've dreamt of playing matches like that. It was amazing. The crowd, the feeling, it was just so bizarre. I could feel the whole crowd. I felt Rod Laver almost vibrating because the crowd was so loud. It was awesome."

- Casey Dellacqua on her third round match against Amélie Mauresmo, which she won in three sets in front of a packed night crowd.
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"The Australian Open belongs in Australia. I can't imagine it being anywhere else. I love coming here and listening to the accent. I was always watching tennis and wanting to go to Australia and play the Australian Open. When I'm playing my video game, I'm playing in Australia. It belongs here."

- Serena Williams on speculation that the Australian Open may rotate around the Asia-Pacific in the years to come.
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"On the ATP tour, you mean? She goes more than 200kph so she's up there with the guys. She has one of the best serves in women's tennis, no doubt about that. Her and her sister. I can only give her compliments. But now if I start giving her compliments, I can keep going all day, so I have to stop."

- Jelena Jankovic on Serena Williams' serve, prior to facing her in the quarters.
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"Hey, I didn't win. I would have liked it to be different. But, unfortunately, I don't have a time machine, so I can't reverse this loss. If any of you have one, please let me know."

- Venus Williams, speaking to the press, after a quarterfinal loss to Ana Ivanovic.
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"I just love to have fun. I'm happy to live. Life is short and you have to enjoy it. I joke with every girl and am friendly with everybody. If you get into 'This girl said this, that one said that,' I'm over it. If they want say something they come to my face and say it to me. I do the same with them. I just go straight to them and I talk. That way you don't have problems with anybody."

- Svetlana Kuznetsova on other players referring to her as the biggest character in the locker room.
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"Of course it's fair. We were waiting for the men to finish their five sets. God. We should get paid more for waiting around all day long."

- Maria Sharapova after being asked about the fairness of equal prize money.
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"She's my best friend, too. It's so important to have her on the road with me. It has been a few years now. If she wasn't with me it would be much harder. It's hard enough already being away from the rest of my family. So I always have someone to talk to, not only in my mother language but also to ask for advice. And who can give you more honest advice than your mom? She's also my biggest supporter. She never really gets upset with me. It's great because I feel like she understands me."

- Ana Ivanovic on her mother, Dragana.