The Life After Denmark: Sharapova Live

The ardent fan of the girl in my blog's banner never thought his dream would come true someday, and somewhere in tiny Singapore either, but it did! Despite watching the the French Open live in Roland Garros in Paris, France in June 2006, where he caught other top female players like Hantuchova, Henin-Hardene (then), Clijsters, Vaidisova, and Kuznetsova, he never saw Sharapova after she got knocked out before reaching the semi-finals.

But now....now, he can check off one item in his Christmas wish-list with the exhibition match between current World No.5 and No.6 players Maria Sharapova and Anna Chadvetadze, and better than that, to be this

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------<

close to Maria when she walked by him to enter centre court (it was the only court). Being assigned the guy responsible for opening the wooden boards surrounding the court for the players to enter/exit gave him more than just a close-up of the action, it provided him that all-important opportunity to be mesmerized by the 1.88-tall player, model, and UN goodwill ambassador when she passed him by. While his professional duty disallowed his innate desire to whip out his camera and snap a quick picture of this tennis superstar, he did, in some other ways, sought help from others to attempt otherwise. Whilst the pictures didn't turn out very clear, the on-court experience was more than refreshing, it was overwhelming. Next time, rest-assured this die-hard fan will buy himself a $1800 Champions Club pass to get up close and personal with Maria Sharapova, armed with a DSLR camera in hand.

Match-wise, it was no surprise Sharapova took the first set without error, convincing the crowd of her prowess with a 6-0 win. Chadvetadze fought back in the second set with the crowd's support (as with the French Open and any other match, crowds tend to support the weaker opponent in the hope the match will not end too quickly), leading 5-2 at one point in time. But the world no. 5 was no letdown, bouncing back up to tie the set at 6-6, and taking it to a tiebreak. With her solid groundstrokes and precise shots both crosscourt and down-the-line, Sharapova would not be herself without her characteristic squeals and groans. While people did wish Chadvetadze would buck up further and take the match into the third set, Sharapova denied her and the crowd any more time and finally sealed her opponent's fate at 12-10.