Sharapovanovic's Articles (67)

Almost unnoticed except by the sport’s most fervent followers, four tournaments came and went this week even while most of us recharged our batteries after the drama in Indian Wells and Miami. Scraping off the rust that accumulated during an extended paternity leave, Stanislas Wawrinka claimed the not very Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, which provided an opportunity for the Olympics gold medallist (see above) to…

Pressure may have been a privilege for Billie Jean King, but for China’s Li Na it is an inescapable fact of life. Long burdened with the towering expectations of her compatriots, Li nevertheless has brilliantly represented Chinese tennis on the biggest stages in the sport. Not just personal achivements, her successes have proved vital in sparking a wave of talented compatriots to follow in her footsteps–an influence that few players can…

Inactive during the past fortnight, Sharapova dropped two places in the rankings to #14 as a result of some excellent performances by the players just below her. While she caresses her strings above, we’ll recap some of the big winners and losers from both the WTA and the ATP.

ATP:

Murray (4): The 2009 champion failed to win a set…

As the players pack their passports and clay-court shoes for the annual trip to Europe, we'll take a moment to commemorate the events of a captivating fortnight in Miami. Since our last tournament wrap used the Ad-in, Ad-out format once beloved of SI, we'll switch to the report card model for this edition. Not everyone is included, of course; we targeted those players who especially stood out and those who especially...stood out in a…

A fortnight ago, Andy Roddick came up just short against the startlingly resurgent Ivan Ljubicic in the Indian Wells final, a match that the top-ranked American entered as the distinct favorite. After a sparkling semifinal triumph over Rafael Nadal, Roddick now has the opportunity to expunge his desert disappointment by capturing the Miami title. Yet his opponent has hurtled into the final Sunday on a Ljubicic-worthy run, during which he…

The 2009 Miami final represented a dramatic breakthrough for Victoria Azarenka, who defeated five-time champion Serena Williams to claim what thus far has been the most significant title of her budding career. Arrayed on opposite sides of this net this year, in contrast, are two players who have combined to claim no fewer than 79 WTA singles titles (ranked first and third among active players on this list). Who will add to their sprawling…

I caught my first glimpse of Radwanska on a sunny Saturday in September, and my impressions were not favorable: an insufferable runt, not unlike her pet rats Flippy and Floppy, had inexplicably expelled my favorite player from the Slam where she had been the defending champion. Since then, however, I’ve gradually warmed to the Pole and grown to appreciate her and her game for what they are: a dedicated, hardworking player who maximizes her…