By Cheryl Jones
Fans of women’s tennis were anxiously awaiting a showdown between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams today. (It was set to begin after Rafael Nadal defeated Maximilian Marterer, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6, much to the delight of the crowd and Nadal himself.)
Nadal spoke after the match and when he was asked if there was something special about the city of Paris that inspired him, or was it the clay? He said, “I never like to be arrogant at all. I don’t want to have an answer that looks like this. But being honest, I won 11 Monte Carlos; eleven Barcelonas; and 8 Romes. So it’s about the surface, not only the place.”
That place is specifically Roland Garros, where he has surpassed every man who has contested on the red clay in Paris. Last year, he ended the tournament with his tenth victory. Yesterday was his 32nd birthday and he was fortunate enough to have the day off. (The first time I spoke with him, he was only seventeen and he had very little English. He was a quick learner and now is quite proficient with the English questions in interviews.) His sentence ending “no?” remains, but that’s one of his endearing qualities. He moves into the next round and will face Diego Schwartzman, who defeated Kevin Anderson 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(0), 6-2. But, this story isn’t about Rafael Nadal, it’s about a match where Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were scheduled to meet face to face for the twenty-second time.
Actually, in the scheme of things, it looks as if Sharapova will have a long way to go to gain any ground in the match-up with Serena. Sharapova has won only two matches when she faced the American who has won over two times as much prize money on the tour.
Sharapova would likely have had a better chance on Court Philippe Chatrier today, because as most tennis fans know, Serena was not on hand last year because she was pregnant. Evidently pregnancy doesn’t qualify as a reason to have a protected ranking and Williams’ ranking is 451 heading into this match, with Sharapova’s ranking standing at 30. (Sharapova missed Roland Garros last year too, but it was because she had been serving out a suspension for testing positive for a drug she had been taking for ten years that had recently been banned. Her trusted advisors had neglected to inform her and she spent fifteen months off the tour. She wasn’t given a wild card into the competition in Paris.)
A few days ago, Serena spoke at length about her distaste for Sharapova’s depiction of her behaviour after the 2004 Wimbledon final where she defeated Williams 6-1, 6-4. Evidently her recollection of the happenings didn’t match Serena’s memory and for whatever reason she chose to speak up then and not when “Unstoppable: My Life So Far” was published last year. But as feuds go, it wasn’t surprising that Sharapova chose to let it slide and not reply to the allegations that she had fabricated the recollection. (For the record, Sharapova recalled that Williams had cried and carried on so loudly and pitifully that Maria, who was seventeen years-old at the time, felt the need to dress and leave the locker room as quickly as she possibly could.)
It’s been nearly fourteen years since that meeting and one would think it was simply water under the bridge for Williams who is now one of the older women on the tour at thirty-six, but evidently it wasn’t. Memories are personal and anyone who looks back usually has a version of what happened, but the actuality may be somewhere in between two folks’ versions. And, as usual, it likely doesn’t matter in the long run.
Throughout the years since then, there were a lot of matches where there was no reason for any keening from Williams. Sharapova’s win over Williams in the WTA Finals that same year (4-6, 6-2, 6-4), was the last time she took the limelight away from Williams, who many have said is the finest female athlete of all time.
The match today was shaping up to be a showdown of epic proportions, but Williams had to give Sharapova a walkover. Williams spoke at length before the match was set to begin and said that she was having issues with her pectoral muscle. She said that she was unable to serve and without that ability, she certainly couldn’t compete. As she explained, “Yeah, it didn’t start before I got here. The first time I felt it was against Goerges in my last match. That’s when I started to feel it. It was really painful and I didn’t know what it was. In my doubles yesterday I tried a lot of different tapings and I tried lots of different types of support to see how it would feel under match circumstances. It didn’t really get a lot better.”
She said she would have an MRI tomorrow. After that, she should be able to have a better handle on how to proceed. This is the first time she has ever had to pull out in the middle of a Grand Slam.
Williams became a pro in October of 1995, soon after her fourteenth birthday. Now, at thirty-six, she explained how difficult it was to make the call today. Even after all the vitriol, she said, “I love playing Maria. You know, it’s just a match I always get up for. You know, it’s just her game matches so well against mine.” Perhaps that is true, but looking from the outside, it seems the antithesis of what she said just two days ago. She went on to say, “I don’t really know how to manage it yet. Sadly, when you do have an injury that you have had before, you can kind of manage it. But this is different and I am clueless as to what to do.” She will wait for the doctor to make suggestions after her MRI.
Sharapova will move on to the next round and face 2016 Women’s champion, Garbine Muguruza who moved on after Lesia Tsurenko was forced to retire because of a hamstring injury that cut short their evening match. Although it doesn’t have the same flavor as the Serena Williams versus Sharapova match, two former champions should provide some terrific tennis for the crowds who flock daily to Roland Garros.
Tomorrow, Williams will have the MRI and learn just how to treat her discomfort. Then she will have to examine Plan B that she has seldom utilized.
Will she participate in Wimbledon in a few weeks? Right now those plans are on hold. The important thing for Williams is to find out what has caused this confusing injury, and then how to treat it. Answers will give a direction and it’s likely Williams will return with the fervour she has always seemed to exhibit.
