shriek against squek

The No.5 seed Maria Sharapova became the Australian Open 2008 singles champion as she defeated Ana Ivanovic 7/5 6/3 in the final.Sharapova lost a total of 24 games on her way to the final, beating WTA's greatest stars Davenport, Dementieva, Henin and Jankovic in straight sets.

It wasn't a good match by any means. Both players looked to be very tense when they got their chances to wrap up the first set. The first one who showed nerves was Sharapova, as she couldn't make use of a 4/2 lead and let the Serb into the match. Ivanovic won 3 straight games and had 0/30 on Sharapova's serve. At 15/30 Ivanovic made a silly dropshot which landed in the net. From this point onwards the Russian cruised past the higher Ranked opponent. The former No.1 won the first set 7/5 and didn't show any sign of weakness as she secured the title with her third matchpoint. "This morning I got a text from Billie Jean King saying champions take chances and pressure is a privilege. I am just glad I could take my chances today."This was Maria's first Australian Open crown as she lost the final match against Serena Williams last year.

The beauty contest didn't live up to the expectations as the stats didn't make a pretty reading. Both made more double faults than aces and only Sharapova got hold the winner/unforced errors ratio on an even keal. Though didn't performing as well on the tennis court, both players made emotional appearances during the prize ceremony. In fact U can saftely say the prize ceremony was a more interesting spectacle than the match itself.

~jachal