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Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova, Maria Kirilenko and Venus Williams, kournikova, hot, sexy, tennis, davis cup, signed, autographs, tournament, wallpapers, bikini photo shoot, wimbledon, us open, SI, sports illustrated, prince, nike, canon, videos
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“I'm 17 years old and there are many great things ahead. If I don't win the U.S. Open this year, it's not going to be a disaster in my life” |
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Posted on Jan 27 / 2007 / 8:34 AM 
Unseeded Serena Williams swatted aside top seed and world number one Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open final to win her eighth Grand Slam.
Sharapova had no answer to Williams' booming serve and blistering returns as the American completed a fairytale return from injury with a third Australian title to join her 2003 and 2005 trophies.
Coming into the final as the underdog, the 25-year-old made a mockery of her world ranking of 81 to humiliate Sharapova and become the first unseeded player since 1978 to claim the Australian title.
With the roof of the Rod Laver Arena closed because of drizzle, the early signs were good for Williams, as it was during her previous victories at the tournament.
Serving first, she signalled her intentions when she fired down an ace to take the opening game.
The American was a picture of steely intent, showing none of the lapses in concentration that forced her to fight back from a set down twice in the tournament.
She drew first blood with a break in the second game when the serving woes that have dogged Sharapova's campaign continued and she double faulted twice to put the American ahead.
Williams punished Sharapova's tentative serve with sizzling returns and she stunned the Russian with another break to go up 4-0 after just 14 minutes,
Sharapova desperately sought a way back into the game and dug deep to take Williams to break point in the fifth game, only for her opponent to ease back on the throttle and bamboozle her with a looping drop shot and take the game.
The shell-shocked Russian accidentally hit a ball directly at her opponent in the next, when she finally managed to defend her serve, but only managed to fire up Williams further.
Williams served out the set after 26 minutes and Sharapova's woes continued when she double faulted to open the second.
The American continued to dominate the world number one, breaking Sharapova in the first game then holding her own serve with an ace.
Any doubts about her fitness were quickly dispelled as she leapt around the court, changing directions to reach return and charging to the net.
It was 10 games and 43 minutes into the match before Sharapova served an ace and less than 50 percent of her first serves were successful.
She clung on to defend her serve twice in the second set but could do little against the Williams onslaught, muttering "too good" to herself after another rocket-powered return from her opponent.
Williams served out the match and dropped to the ground in relief then bowed to the cheering crowd after one of the most lopsided finals in recent memory.
Comments: 60 reactions
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Slideshow: Photos for Jan 27 / 2007 / 8:34 AM |
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Comment on article
go serena!!!!! good job!!!! |
by elite.tennis on Jan 27 / 2007 / 8:57 AM | |
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NO TE PREOCUPES MARIA, SIN JUGAR TU MEJOR TENOS LLEGASTE A LA FINAL, CON UNOS PARTIDOS FANTÁSTICOS. SERENA HA JUGADO MEJOR Y HA SALIDO MAS CONCENTRADA . TU NO HAS TENIDO TU DIA, PERO NO PERMITAS (NOSOTROS NO LO PERMITIREMOS) QUE CUESTIONEN TU CALIDAAD. CUANDO LAS OTRAS PIERDEN SIEMPRE DICEN QUE HAN TENIDO UN MAL DIA, CUANDO LO HACES TU, QUE TU TENIS NO ES BUENO. NO ES CIERTO, ERES UNA CAMPEONA. POR ALGO ESTAS EN EL NUMERO 1 DEL MUNDO. FELICIDADES POR EL TORNEO, MARIA
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by FERNANDO on Jan 27 / 2007 / 9:54 AM | |
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too bad Maria, but you'll win the next time! |
by JR on Jan 27 / 2007 / 10:16 AM | |
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MARIA is The best |
by hbb on Jan 27 / 2007 / 10:52 AM | |
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Nic się nie stało. Czekamy na nastepny wielkoszlemowy turniej, który napewno wygra Maria!! |
by Marta on Jan 27 / 2007 / 11:05 AM | |
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Congrats to Serena and all, that sucks for Maria but she is SECOND. not as good as first but better then being out by the first round...
Maria is No. 1 in rankings soon! |
by Mel on Jan 27 / 2007 / 12:43 PM | |
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No CRY Maria GoooOOO I LOVE YOU.. |
by mariafan19 on Jan 27 / 2007 / 1:39 PM | |
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Iam so sad:'( |
by Esam on Jan 27 / 2007 / 3:51 PM | |
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I am so sad:'( but iam sure that u r the best masha.
please dont cry masha |
by Esam on Jan 27 / 2007 / 3:52 PM | |
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Maria is very very nice! Is best!!! Maria is best! |
by nicol on Jan 27 / 2007 / 4:21 PM | |
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its okay maria! i love you! |
by laura on Jan 27 / 2007 / 4:32 PM | |
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No one is going to tell me Serena is that much better no way!Maria is carrying some kind of injury. |
by stephen on Jan 27 / 2007 / 4:35 PM | |
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i am a fan but even i say that was the worse performance i have ever seen for maria |
by mike on Jan 27 / 2007 / 4:57 PM | |
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i am a fan but even i say that was the worse performance i have ever seen from maria |
by mike on Jan 27 / 2007 / 4:57 PM | |
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Masha,
You never loose! You have succeeded in reaching the finals! That´s great! The next tournament is coming up for to show how such a great player you have always been!
Love,
Wester |
by Wester Moraes - Brazil on Jan 27 / 2007 / 5:06 PM | |
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It was the worse final between two woman in GSlam for the last 20 years. There were only one player on the court, and that was Serena Williams. Miss Sharapova - You are not a kid anymore...but it looks like from my television......Sorry! |
by D.T. Hansson on Jan 27 / 2007 / 5:33 PM | |
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DoNt WoRrY MaRiA!!!!!!!! yOu WiN RoLaNd GaRrOs. For your fans you are the champion.  |
by ivan on Jan 27 / 2007 / 6:08 PM | |
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hello MARIA
I saw the match is not good play for you, in your face was clear, but, you are very good, come on, always I am with you, you must add points, still you can win of others three Slam. take two days vacations in Bogotá Colombia. |
by YURI RIZO on Jan 27 / 2007 / 6:19 PM | |
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the brightest flame burns quickest! |
by soroush on Jan 27 / 2007 / 6:41 PM | |
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I'm new to your site. Frankly, I was a little stunned to see your write up about Maria and her loss in the Australian Open. Saying that she was "crushed" is absurd. Anyone who has been an athlete (and I have and am) can tell you that every athlete has good and bad days. Clearly, Maria is working on her serve as it troubled her greatly in her match with Kim Clijsters as well. Maria beat Clijsters just as decisively yet no one spoke of Kim being "crushed".
Considering this site is supposed to be supportive of Maria Sharapova, I find it anything BUT that. Please ... no more hatchet jobs on Maria!! |
by Tim B on Jan 27 / 2007 / 7:24 PM | |
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Tim, 'Crushed' does sound a bit cruel, doesn't it?
I'm very supportive when it's about Maria, but i'm also very realistic. I was just a bit dissapointed with the result cause I expected too much of it. Serena was too strong for Maria today, and no doubt that they'll meet again any day soon. She'll get her revenge.
Changed the crushed part back to 'dominates'. |
by Marco on Jan 27 / 2007 / 10:06 PM | |
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Maria has and always will be the elite tennis champion. She is talented, fit, competitive, and beautiful. I think Williams has been on Steriods. She looks like a freak when she plays. |
by David Watts on Jan 27 / 2007 / 10:13 PM | |
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Maria it was a bad game for you!you are the best!i love you! |
by Fotis Grigoropoulos on Jan 27 / 2007 / 11:51 PM | |
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Good try maria. we love you |
by anonymous on Jan 28 / 2007 / 12:38 AM | |
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Kaya mo yan...in your next fight,..just give your vevy,very best... |
by jessinphillippines on Jan 28 / 2007 / 12:57 AM | |
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It's okay Masha. you'll do better next time! |
by Kate on Jan 28 / 2007 / 2:05 AM | |
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You are still the best!!! You will win the next Open!!!Go Maria I love U!!!!! |
by mike 18 on Jan 28 / 2007 / 3:02 AM | |
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maria!! i saw the macht i was crying for you i love you!! you are the best!! dont forget this!! you will win the tokio next week , your tennis is the best!! i love you!1
matias of argentina!! |
by matias on Jan 28 / 2007 / 5:18 AM | |
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Oh my this was not the best match from Sharapova but Serena was on fire here fans have to know that Serena really help here career if she had beat anyone else in the W final no one would care but as someone said before this just was not maria day as it was not Serena day In W 04 and by the way serena is not a monster she is not the best looking girl in the world but she is not a monster and for someone to say that is just not right I don't think I will be coming back to maria and i like maria but I can't come to a site where they have poeple posting here calling other monster she is a world known tennis and someone should be watching this site I hope it happens sooner then later love you maria and by the way David Watts, Wilson need to banded |
by tenniswta on Jan 28 / 2007 / 9:39 AM | |
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Oh my this was not the best match from Sharapova but Serena was on fire here fans have to know that Serena really help here career if she had beat anyone else in the W final no one would care but as someone said before this just was not maria day as it was not Serena day In W 04 and by the way serena is not a monster she is not the best looking girl in the world but she is not a monster and for someone to say that is just not right I don't think I will be coming back to maria and i like maria but I can't come to a site where they have poeple posting here calling other monster she is a world known tennis and someone should be watching this site I hope it happens sooner then later love you maria and by the way David Watts, Wilson need to banded |
by tenniswta on Jan 28 / 2007 / 9:40 AM | |
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Well this seems to be tough at the final day i guess for MAsha ....But it Is not like this that u sit behind and Cry ........COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR BUT RATHER THE JUDGEMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEAR...THE KEY IS ALWAYS THERE WHICH MAKES THE LIFE OF THAT GAME.....FROm MY POINT OF VIEW ONE last thing MASHA did not get right was that SHE DIDnt respond to the timing of SERENA and also didnt timed her WINNERS and VOLEYS and PASSES towards SEREna which she took advantage of...but its quite ok that experience and AGE factor do come in it......NEXT TIME as she will be knowing All this (MASHA) she will be quite a tough OPPONENt to defeat..AND one last thng want to say to her that as the most important women for me in the world ...GO GET SERENA......AND TAKE THE REVENGE.....I LOVE U..........AND I'LL KILL U!....WISH U LUCK.......RED ROSSES FOR THE MY PRINCESS......... |
by Mustafa on Jan 28 / 2007 / 2:50 PM | |
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:'( |
by Shikamaru91 on Jan 28 / 2007 / 3:29 PM | |
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maria! i am sorry but i dont what my expressions on it.
i know you are the best tennis player in the world and i didn't Believe what heppend yesterday. but i cannot sleep last night. it is truth. ok don't wory this is not your last grand slam you will have many chances to prove that you are the best player in world i should like that.best of luck maria your lover if you dont like it so your best fan. that i think |
by mannan on Jan 28 / 2007 / 5:23 PM | |
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Well this seems to be tough at the final day i guess for MAsha ....But it Is not like this that u sit behind and Cry ........COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR BUT RATHER THE JUDGEMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEAR...THE KEY IS ALWAYS THERE WHICH MAKES THE LIFE OF THAT GAME.....FROm MY POINT OF VIEW ONE last thing MASHA did not get right was that SHE DIDnt respond to the timing of SERENA and also didnt timed her WINNERS and VOLEYS and PASSES towards SEREna which she took advantage of...but its quite ok that experience and AGE factor do come in it......NEXT TIME as she will be knowing All this (MASHA) she will be quite a tough OPPONENt to defeat..AND one last thng want to say to her that as the most important women for me in the world ...GO GET SERENA......AND TAKE THE REVENGE.....I LOVE U..........AND I'LL KILL U!....WISH U LUCK.......RED ROSSES FOR THE MY PRINCESS......... |
by A.Mannan on Jan 28 / 2007 / 5:28 PM | |
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Maria Sharapova you are the best ever.I followed all your games this season,you really deserve australian open championship.I love you Maria you are the #1. |
by JOEL on Jan 28 / 2007 / 5:57 PM | |
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Maria no te preocupes todo mundo tiene un mal dia, hechale ganas tu eres la mejor |
by Patricio Rojo on Jan 28 / 2007 / 6:33 PM | |
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pase lo que pase |
by alejandra on Jan 28 / 2007 / 7:31 PM | |
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E bene ritrovare in noi gli amori perduti conciliare in noi l`offesa,ma se la vita all`intero ti pesa tu la porti di fuori.Con tanto amore da angelo65@mail.ru Togliatti Russia |
by angelo on Jan 28 / 2007 / 9:47 PM | |
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-edit: love or leave, hater |
by Singer on Jan 28 / 2007 / 10:31 PM | |
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Maria played good but Serena just played butter if she could played agan Maria would of kick Serena ass I love Maria she will do butter next time |
by Bruno Stegmann on Jan 29 / 2007 / 1:17 AM | |
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i have to say some of u people are trashing this site with horrible comments.coman people lets admit it serena williams outplayed sharapova.i think that even if sharapova had been serving better, serena was just too good.no reason for us to be upset sharapova will get more chances she is talented and a good kid.lets not call people monsters coman lets not trash this site.who else agrees with me.we need to ban the guy who wrote those horrible things about serena. |
by lupe on Jan 29 / 2007 / 3:46 AM | |
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This is not fair to let men play in a women's tournament. Though should admit Serena definitely has balls. |
by ali g on Jan 29 / 2007 / 9:37 AM | |
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not to worry maria i still think you are the best and i look forward to seeing you win again maria sharapova simply the best |
by bubbles on Jan 29 / 2007 / 1:00 PM | |
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:'( |
by meloncolie on Jan 29 / 2007 / 5:07 PM | |
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hi maria espero que estes super bien; soy un fanatico 100% tuya siempre te sigo en todos los partidos,pues creemos que no fue una final justa meresistes una mejor suerte, pero igual para nosotros sigues siendo la mejor del mundo *nuestra campeona* es por eso que debemos superar cada obstaculo que se nos presentan, sigue adelante como siempre que desde aqui te estaremos dando nuestras energias positivas...suerte en todos tus proyectos y metas que deseas alcanzar * bye bye Maria * |
by luis jordel on Jan 30 / 2007 / 2:17 AM | |
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Go Maria!!
Visit: sharapova-fan.co.nr |
by christina on Jan 30 / 2007 / 5:19 AM | |
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MARIA
妳還是要加油哦!! |
by beatreice on Jan 30 / 2007 / 1:30 PM | |
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加油!! |
by BEATRICE on Jan 30 / 2007 / 1:31 PM | |
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MARIA, A POR TOKIO |
by FERNANDO on Jan 30 / 2007 / 4:20 PM | |
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no importa maria no t preocupes , cosita hermosa , ya todos sabemos q sos la n°1 en todo los sentidos , t sigo a todos las desde aca de argentina, soy re fans tuyo . m encanta todo lo q haces , y bueno t deseo todo lo mejor del mundo y no pasa nada , recien es principio de año y por lo tanto vas a tner un año fantastico ,bueno m despido dejando un besote enorme y un abrazo , q seria como un sueño para mi dartelo , jejej
BYE BYE I LOVE YOU. |
by Federico on Jan 31 / 2007 / 6:53 PM | |
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Maria Sharapova vos iluminas con tu belleza el tennis, y muchos queremos seguir viendote jugar, debes mejorar mucho tu 1er saque sino ahi viene Vainisova, te deseo muchos exitos. |
by Alexander on Feb 01 / 2007 / 5:47 AM | |
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Sos divina Maria, sin embargo en el tennis no se gana con la belleza, debes mejoras:
1) Primer saque
2) Concentracion
3) Puedes correr un poco mas
4) Practicar Aces
Con mucho cariño de tu admirador. |
by Alexander on Feb 01 / 2007 / 5:52 AM | |
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You want to doante some money to my conservation sanctuary for australian wildlife please contact me rufousme@hotmail.com its nick |
by Nick on Feb 03 / 2007 / 10:43 AM | |
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by hamid on Mar 13 / 2007 / 5:33 PM | |
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hai sharapova when this message you read now that time to i am with you |
by sarath kumar on Jun 02 / 2007 / 12:29 PM | |
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