# Sharapova!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394 "2004-07-03T19:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/1 "2004-07-03T19:00:09Z")
Did you see the Wimbledon final this morning? The young (17) Sharapova destroyed Serena Williams in straight sets. She won the first set 6-1, a score Serena had never seen against herself before at Wimbledon. The first set win included TWO breaks of Williams service, almost unbelievable. Well, tennis has found a new phenom in Sarapova, and she’s doing modeling too, move over Kournikova. And she’s my neighbor too 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/2 "2004-07-03T19:01:12Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > Did you see the Wimbledon final this morning? The young (17) Sharapova destroyed Serena Williams in straight sets. She won the first set 6-1, a score Serena had never seen against herself before at Wimbledon. The first set win included TWO breaks of Williams service, almost unbelievable. Well, tennis has found a new phenom in Sarapova, and she’s doing modeling too, move over Kournikova. And she’s my neighbor too 😃 And she had a cold too. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/3 "2004-07-03T19:07:00Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > And she had a cold too. Yeah, she ran off the court just before the match started and went to the locker room. Maybe had to toss her cookies? She sure didn’t seem nervous though. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/4 "2004-07-03T19:23:07Z")
She won? In straight sets? Holy crap! In case anyone hasn’t seen her yet [here’s](http://milano.vinden.nl/) why we’re so excited. Hey, Maria and I share a birthday. And I’m four years older than her… Wow, I feel old. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/5 "2004-07-03T19:28:03Z")
I should add that I hope she stays focused on her game even, though she is a hottie. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/6 "2004-07-03T19:54:20Z")
The second set was no less phenomenal. Sharapova was down 4-2 just after Serena broke her service. Sharapova answered back by winning the next 4 sets. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/7 "2004-07-03T20:05:56Z")
Anna Kournikova’s career is now officially over- there’s now a Russian blonde who’s just as cute AND can actually play tennis! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/8 "2004-07-03T20:49:17Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > She won? In straight sets? Holy crap! > > In case anyone hasn’t seen her yet [here’s](http://milano.vinden.nl/) why we’re so excited. > > Hey, Maria and I share a birthday. And I’m four years older than her… Wow, I feel old. Damn! So do I! April 19! I am 8 years older than her (and 4 older than you) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/9 "2004-07-03T20:53:47Z")
So, how long before e-mail viruses with her name on them hit the net? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/10 "2004-07-03T21:28:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Anna Kournikova’s career is now officially over- there’s now a Russian blonde who’s just as cute AND can actually play tennis! Kournikova has been retired for some time due to injuries. Sharapova had already won three singles titles, putting her out of Anna’s league since that’s three more than Anna won. However, winning a Slam title should mean she never has to hear the “K” word again. Certainly at 17 she should win more of them. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/11 "2004-07-03T22:48:48Z")
What’s the deal with her? I heard on the news that she’s a “Georgian Russian,” but when I heard her interviewed she sounded more “Southern California.” ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/12 "2004-07-03T23:19:25Z")
She was born in Belarus and lived the first seven years of her life in Siberia. She and her dad moved to Miami when she was seven to try and enter her in the Bolletieri (sp?) Academy, which would probably explain why there’s barely even a hint of Russian accent among the American drawl. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/13 "2004-07-04T15:06:01Z")
I didn’t think the Sharapova/Williams match was all that phenomenal … Williams seemed to be a little off her game. The semifinal contest between Lindsay Davenport and Sharapova was a LOT more intense, and Davenport gave Sharapova a MUCH tougher time – took her to three sets, for one thing, but the battle between the two in the second set, in which Davenport took Sharapova to a tiebreaker and then lost to go to a third set, was incredibly intense. Best match I’ve seen in the tournament, though the Federer/Rigdon match is looking pretty good right now. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/14 "2004-07-04T19:58:02Z")
**Evil Captor** I hear you – Serena didn’t play well, but I wonder if that had more to do with Sharpova playing great & not Serena playing poorly … because right up until she faced off against Sharpova, Serena _was_ playing well - very well. She looked like she has completely recovered from the injury - Serena dismantled her opponents including being overpowering in the much anticipated show-down with Capriati. (In the previous match Serena recorded the second fastest for a serve ever (Venus has no.1) … the match vs. Sharpova was \*supposed \* to be an afterthought. Kind of like the Detroit Pistons in the NBA finals or Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship this year… ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/15 "2004-07-04T21:05:30Z")
Sharapova kept Serena on her heels, or literally on her butt, most of the match. That’s something I have never seen someone do to Serena before. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/16 "2004-07-05T04:28:03Z")
Since I know next to nothing about pro tennis (and mostly care just about the same), I thought I’d throw in a question here. On Friday a little before noon I had lunch at a cafe that had some Canadian sports network on with no sound, and they played a slow-motion clip of the ball landing just outside the line, followed by a diagram showing that the centre of the ball was maybe an inch out. Then they showed the player who made the shot, also in slo-mo. She’s a black woman, and looks like she’s having a lot of fun out there, instead of being as serious as most players are. The clip showed her making a big leap to reach the ball, looking very intent, and her face lit up as she connected and hit the ground. Then her face fell as she saw the ball go out, she buried her face in her hands for a moment, and came up laughing. It was great to see her go through all those emotions in just a few seconds! She won her match (lots of jumping up and down!), and was followed by mixed doubles. Does anybody know who she is and where I might find that clip online? ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/17 "2004-07-06T04:11:38Z")
I didn’t mean to kill the thread! ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/18 "2004-07-06T10:05:17Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > I didn’t mean to kill the thread! I couldn’t find anyone in the women’s final 16 that fit your description. There was a juniors championship going on at the same time, maybe she was a junior? It will be interesting to see how Sharapova reacts to having cameras flash in her face 24/7. She seems to have a pretty cool head though. I personally wish her the best of luck. She came over to the US with her Dad when she was 7(?), they wouldn’t let her Mom in for two more years. Her Dad had $700 in his pocket when they arrived in the US. An amazing rags to riches story, and it looks like it couldn’t have happened to nicer people. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/19 "2004-07-06T16:14:09Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > She came over to the US with her Dad when she was 7(?), they wouldn’t let her Mom in for two more years. Her Dad had $700 in his pocket when they arrived in the US. An amazing rags to riches story, and it looks like it couldn’t have happened to nicer people. How does that work? How can you have $700 to your name and get your daughter into an elite tennis school??? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394/20 "2004-07-06T16:37:49Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > I should add that I hope she stays focused on her game even, though she is a hottie. I hope **I can focus on her game** , even though she is a hottie. Ya know, all these hotties in tennis…it’s killing me. I watch the battles, someone walks by and thinks I’m a perv for watching women’s tennis. Yeah, OF COURSE I notice how hot they are, but I also wanted to watch a Wimbledon final, and see how she fares against Williams. At 6 feet tall, she is more true modelling material than Kournikova, who isn’t exactly short. On pure body, height, looks: I give a slight nod to Sharapova…but Anna had the very long hair and skin tone that couldn’t look any better, especially when sweating. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharapova/253394.md?page=2)