Wimbledon Day 6 recap: Jankovic stuns Kvitova

Jelena Jankovic rallied to beat defending champion
Petra Kvitova. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Upset of the day -- No. 28 seed Jelena "Weird Al" Jankovic of Serbia rallied to beat No. 2 Petra "Fied Forest" Kvitova, the defending champion from the Czech Republic, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the third round. Kvitova, who also won the title in 2011, led 4-2 in the second set. She had lost only three games in her previous two matches after withdrawing from Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon with an undisclosed illness. The 30-year-old Jankovic, who reached No. 1 in the world in 2008, has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon. She had won only one match at the All England Club in the last four years. See my story on this year's Indian Wells finals, in which Jankovic lost to Simona Halep.
   Match of the day -- Canada's Vasek "Anything Is" Pospisil, the reigning men's doubles champion with American Jack Sock, topped James "Montgomery" Ward of Great Britain 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 8-6.
   Notable -- "Cheech" Marin Cilic, the ninth seed and reigning U.S. Open champion, outlasted No. 17 John "Wayne" Isner 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 12-10 in the completion of a match suspended by darkness.
   Dustin "Hoffman" Brown, who upset "San" Rafael Nadal in the second round, lost to No. 22 Victor "Leon" Troicki 6-4, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3. It's the fourth straight year in which a man ranked No. 100 or worse has beaten Nadal at Wimbledon and fallen in the next round. 
   No. 15 Timea "Ted" Bacsinszky, a French Open semifinalist last month, dismissed No. 18 Sabine Lisicki "Day," the Wimbledon runner-up two years ago, 6-3, 6-2. 
   Men's seeded winners -- No. 2 Roger Federer "Express," No. 3 Andy "Bill" Murray, No. 6 Tomas "Free As A" Berdych, No. 9 Cilic, No. 12 Gilles "Paul" Simon, No. 20 Roberto "Clemente" Bautista Agut, No. 22 Victory "Leon" Troicki, No. 23 Ivo "Longoria" Karlovic.
   Men's seeded losers -- No. 13 Jo-Wilfried "Sing A" Tsonga, No. 17 Isner, No. 18 Gael "Sayers" Monfils, No. 25 Andreas Seppi "Blatter."
   Women's seeded winners -- No. 5 "Sweet" Caroline Wozniacki, No. 13 Agnieszka "Moorehead" Radwanska, No. 15 Bacsinszky, No. 20 Garbine Muguruza "Bader Ginsburg," No. 21 Madison "Where The Hell Are My" Keys.
   Women's seeded losers -- No. 2 Kvitova, No. 10 Angelique "Jolie" Kerber, No. 18 Lisicki, No. 31 Camila Giorgi "Girl."
   Stars and stripes -- The United States has four women -- Serena "Vanessa" Williams, Venus "And Mars" Williams, Keys and CoCo "Chanel" Vandeweghe -- and one man -- wild card Denis "The Menace" Kudla -- in the round of 16. The Williams sisters will meet in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2009 on Monday at 5 a.m. PDT (ESPN). Kudla figures to lose to Cilic.
   Fast facts -- Sam "Adams" Groth of Australia hammered a 147-mph (237-kph) serve, the second-fastest in Wimbledon history, in his 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 loss to Federer. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter), 215-pound (97-kilogram) Groth holds the unofficial record for the world's fastest serve with a  163.4-mph (263-kph) rocket in a 2012 Challenger in Busan, South Korea.
   You might say the women's draw is a little top-heavy. Remaining players in the top half have combined for 34 Grand Slam singles titles (Serena Williams 20, Venus Williams seven, Maria "Shriver" Sharapova five and Victoria "Station" Azarenka two). Remaining players in the bottom half have won none. 
   Northern California connection -- Anabel Medina Garrigues and Jarmila Gajdosova, both of whom are scheduled to play for the Sacramento-based California Dream in World TeamTennis after Wimbledon, reached the third round of women's doubles with different partners. Medina Garrigues is seeded 16th with fellow Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja.
   Another member of the Dream, Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan, lost in men's doubles.
   In the second round of mixed doubles, top-seeded Mike Bryan and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won, but fourth-seeded Bob Bryan and Caroline Garcia fell to Nenad Zimonjic and Gajdosova 3-6, 6-3, 9-7. The 37-year-old Bryan twins are scheduled to play three of the Dream's 14 regular-season matches.
   Also in mixed doubles, 10th-seeded Raven Klaasen and Raquel Kops-Jones, a San Jose resident and former Cal standout, advanced by walkover.
   Michaela Gordon, 15, of Saratoga beat Rebeka Masarova of Russia 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the first round of junior girls singles. 
   Quote -- Jankovic: "I cannot stop smiling. ... I was very brave at the end. You know, here I am. Unbelievable."
   Monday's top matches (beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on ESPN) -- Centre Court: Serena Williams (1) vs. Venus Williams (16), Murray (3) vs. Karlovic (23), Federer (2) vs. Bautista Agut (20).
   Court 1: Sharapova (4) vs. Zarina "Williams" Diyas, Stan "The Man" Wawrinka (4) vs. David "Gerry" Goffin (16), Novak "It's No" Djokovic (1) vs. Kevin Anderson "Cooper" (14).

Djokovic overcomes nerves, tops Federer for title

Novak Djokovic tied Roger Federer's record of four Indian Wells titles.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   INDIAN WELLS — Take heart, hackers.
   Even the best players in the world — indeed, of all time — get nervous on the court. Sometimes dental-surgery nervous.
   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and former No. 1s Roger Federer and Jelena Jankovic all had the yips on Sunday in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open.
   Only Djokovic survived. 
   For the second straight year, Djokovic beat Federer in three sets for the title. This one — 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 — wasn't as close as last year's 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) thriller.
   It was the first time in the tournament's 40-year history that the same two men have played in the final in back-to-back years.
   Djokovic's fellow Serb, Jankovic, also has won the BNP Paribas Open. But the 2010 champion, plagued by injuries recently, let Simona Halep off the hook in the second set and finally wilted in a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss.
   Halep, 23, became the first Romanian to win a Premier Mandatory tournament, the highest level on the women's tour besides the Grand Slams, and earned the biggest title of her career. She also pocketed $900,400, as did Djokovic, and became the first woman to win three titles this year.   
   Djokovic, in his prime at 27:
    —Became the 12th player in the Open Era, which began in 1968, to win 50 tour-level titles, breaking a tie with his coach, International Tennis Hall of Famer Boris Becker.
    —Equaled Federer's record of four Indian Wells crowns.
    —Became the first man to win Indian Wells twice in a row since Federer reeled off three straight titles from 2004 to 2006.
   "It's kind of a golden era in men's tennis right now, and I'm very proud to be part of it," said Djokovic, who improved to 18-20 against Federer. "I believe that a big part of my success is those matches that I have had with Rafa (Rafael Nadal) and Roger. Those two guys made me a better player."

Simona Halep won the biggest title of her career.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Djokovic had a break point for 5-2 in the second set, but Federer saved it with a service winner and held for 3-4. Federer then broke Djokovic's serve with the help of a double fault at 30-30 for 4-4 and forced a tiebreaker.
   Djokovic double-faulted three times in the tiebreaker, including twice in a row to hand Federer a 6-5 lead. The second-ranked Federer took advantage, closing out the set on the next point to the delight of the announced crowd of 16,988 in 16,100-seat Stadium 1.
   "We are all humans," Djokovic said. "We all fail under pressure sometimes. It's completely normal, even though I have so much experience. Roger, as well.
   "But it's important to bounce back. It's important to regroup, let it go and move on to the next mission."
   Heck, Nadal appears to be a nervous wreck before matches, bouncing his knee up and down while sitting in his chair.
   After the tiebreaker, television cameras caught Djokovic's hand shaking while he took a sip of water.
   "It was exactly what you saw," Djokovic confessed. "So, yeah, it happens sometimes, I guess. The body has reactions and movements that you're not in control of.
   "It was a tough tiebreaker for me. It was frustrating, and I just went through emotions. But I managed to calm down in the third set."
   Not entirely. Djokovic broke serve for 2-0 but handed it right back, double-faulting at deuce and then netting a backhand. On the changeover, Djokovic smashed his racket.
   "I could tolerate the loss of the break in the second set and maybe the tiebreak loss, but I couldn't tolerate that third break that I lost at 2-love," Djokovic admitted. "But you go through these emotional ups and downs. I just said, 'OK, this is it. Let it go. Now I have to focus and stand up in a minute and play my best.' "

Federer addresses the media after losing to Djokovic
in three sets in the Indian Wells final for the second
straight year. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Indeed, after Federer held for 2-2, Djokovic won four straight games for the match. Federer double-faulted for 2-4 after leading 40-15. Djokovic's reaction?  
   "He's human, too," Djokovic said, eliciting laughs from reporters. "I felt huge relief, to be honest. I saw I'm not the only one double-faulting under pressure."
   After Djokovic held at 15 on a 130-mph (209.2-kph) ace for 5-2, Federer fell behind 0-30 on his serve and was broken again, this time on a runaround forehand that sailed wide to end the match.
   "It was disappointing to sort of let it slip away, and next thing you know, the match is over," said the 33-year-old Federer, who never mentioned nerves during his news conference. "Novak did well to sustain the lead for most of the match. I think he found an extra gear at the end."
   Jankovic, recovering from a torn leg muscle, wasn't sure she'd be able to play in the BNP Paribas Open. The 30-year-old veteran had only two days of light hitting before the tournament and competed with her right thigh wrapped.
   Jankovic, who built a home in Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area, also missed the last three months of 2014 with a back injury. 
   Both Halep and Jankovic are one-time Grand Slam runners-up. Halep lost to Maria Sharapova in last year's French Open, and Jankovic fell to Serena Williams in the 2008 U.S. Open.
   All five matches between Halep and Jankovic have gone to three sets. Halep leads the series 4-1, although Jankovic had match points in two of her losses.

Jelena Jankovic, the 2010 Indian Wells champ, leaves the
court after falling to Halep, top right. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Even though Sunday's contest began at 11 a.m. under overcast skies, it was a grueling affair that featured long rallies and 18 service breaks (nine by each player). The match lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes as the temperature reached a high of 86 degrees (30 Celsius).
   "I don't know how I won today because I didn't play my best," conceded the third-ranked Halep, who compensates for her small size (5-foot-6/1.68 meters and 132 pounds/60 kilograms) with consistency and tenacity. "I just wanted to fight until the end because I think that is the most important thing for my style, for myself."
   Like Djokovic, Jankovic led by a set and 3-1.
   Explained Halep, who advanced to the final when Serena Williams withdrew on Friday night with a knee injury: "The first set was strange for me because I didn't play a match for three days. It's really tough to go straight to the finals."
   Furthermore, Halep took a medical timeout after the first set for foot blisters.
   Jankovic was two points from winning while serving at 5-4, 30-30 in the second set, but Halep won three straight games to level the match.
   "I think at the end of the second set, I got a little bit nervous," the exceptionally friendly, down-to-earth Jankovic, who rose from No. 21 to No. 17 in the new rankings, said in her raspy voice. "I got a little bit tentative, and that was my big mistake. ...
   "We all get nervous. It's part of being a professional athlete. It's just a matter of how you control it. I let those nerves take the best out of me. That shouldn't happen."
   Jankovic, 5-foot-9 1/2 (1.77 meters), lost her last four service games in the second and third sets.     
   "My arm was super heavy," admitted the 5-foot-9 1/2 (1.77-meter) Jankovic, who committed nine double faults overall. "I could not even lift it. I don't know if you guys know, but if you play sports and get nervous, this is what happens. ...
   "I mean, I'm human. I was so excited to (try to) be the champion once again like I did in 2010. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."

Serena withdraws; Raonic saves 3 MPs, upsets Nadal

Serena Williams addresses the media after withdrawing
from the BNP Paribas Open. Photo by Paul Bauman

   INDIAN WELLS -- It couldn't happen again.
   But it did.
   A Williams sister withdrew shortly before her semifinal in the BNP Paribas Open.
   Serena Williams, who had boycotted the tournament for 14 years, pulled out of tonight's match against Simona Halep with inflammation and pain in her right knee.
   Halep, seeded third, will meet resurgent Jelena Jankovic, seeded 18th, in Sunday's final. Jankovic, a former world No. 1 and the 2010 BNP champion, beat 24th-seeded Sabine Lisicki 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
   Halep, 23, is 3-1 against Jankovic, 30, with three straight wins. In addition, Jankovic is recovering from a torn leg muscle.
   Earlier today, sixth-seeded Milos Raonic saved three match points in a 4-6, 7-6 (10), 7-5 victory over third-seeded Rafael Nadal, a three-time BNP champion, in the quarterfinals. That prevented the first "Big Four" semifinals since the 2012 Australian Open.
   Williams' withdrawal was the third premature exit in the BNP Paribas Open in two days. On Thursday, qualifier Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine retired with an ankle injury with Jankovic leading 6-1, 4-1, and 32nd-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia pulled out of his quarterfinal against top-ranked Novak Djokovic with a back problem and infected wisdom tooth.     
   Williams, 33, said she felt pain in practice two days ago and received an injection before her scheduled match, but it didn't help.
   "I have never done an injection before," a cordial, upbeat Williams told reporters. "I think if this was any other event, I probably wouldn't have considered it. I wanted to give 200 percent. It just wasn't meant to be this year."  
   Williams rated her pain level as "9 or 10" on a scale of 1 to 10 but said she needed only two days to recover. She added that she hasn't decided whether to defend her title in Miami, which begins next week.
   Williams addressed the fans in Stadium 1 about her injury and received mostly cheers and a few hoots. It was almost as if Williams was testing the crowd after the 1991 controversy.

Milos Raonic blasted 19 aces at up to 147 mph (236.6 kph)
in his victory over Rafael Nadal. Photo by Paul Bauman

   That year, Venus Williams withdrew 20 minutes before her scheduled semifinal against Serena with knee tendinitis. Fans were upset that they got a doubles match instead, and some suspected that Richard Williams had orchestrated the withdrawal so his daughters wouldn't have to play each other. Also, Richard Williams said fans directed racial comments at him.
   Serena, then 19, was booed loudly throughout the final against Kim Clijsters but won her second title in the tournament. Venus still hasn't returned to the BNP Paribas Open.
   The Serena-Halep semifinal was supposed to be the second match of the night session, following Jankovic-Lisicki. But because the afternoon match between Raonic and Nadal lasted almost three hours, the night session actually kicked off with a men's doubles semifinal. Williams-Halep was not replaced with another match or exhibition.
   Serena said she did not fear talking to the crowd.
   "I think both myself and the crowd have a great appreciation for each other, and I have really enjoyed my four matches here," she said.
   Regarding the irony of both sisters withdrawing from semifinals in the tournament, Williams said: "I don't make anything of it. I feel that was 14 years ago, and this is now. I did the best that I could at this event, and I really am happy to have put a lot of that behind me."
   When asked whether she will return next year, Williams said, "I think it's going to be a must."
   Raonic needed 2 hours and 58 minutes to subdue the valiant Nadal for the first time. Raonic had been 0-5 against the Spanish star, although the last meeting, in the quarters at Miami last year, went to 6-4 in the third set. Nadal won the first four encounters in straight sets.
   In Saturday's semis, the sixth-seeded Raonic will face No. 2 Roger Federer, and No. 1 Novak Djokovic will play No. 4 Andy Murray.
   Federer, who owns a record four Indian Wells titles, dismantled No. 9 Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-0. Djokovic and Murray advanced on Thursday.

Nadal, who was plagued by health problems last year, is getting
closer to top form. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Federer is 8-1 against Raonic. But, just as against Nadal, Raonic extended the victorious Federer to 6-4 in the third set in their last encounter. That occurred in the Brisbane final in January.
   Djokovic leads Murray 16-8, including a four-set victory in the Australian Open final in January. Murray, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, is still returning to form after undergoing "minor" back surgery in September 2013.
   With Nadal standing practically in the next country to return serve on many points, the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Raonic blasted 19 aces at up to 147 mph (236.6 kph) and saved six of the seven break points he faced. He was broken for the only time in the tournament to trail 2-1 in the first set.
   All of the match points against Raonic came on his serve in the second-set tiebreaker. He converted his first serve on the initial two match points, winning on a forehand approach and an overhead. There wasn't much Nadal could do about either.   
   The third match point, at 10-9, was another story. Raonic missed his first serve and hit -- by his standards -- a powder-puff second delivery at 101 mph (162.5 kph). Nadal mis-hit the return into the net with a forehand.
   "That was a big mistake," conceded Nadal, 28. "That's the only (regret) during the whole match."
   The left-handed Nadal missed three months last summer with a right wrist injury and underwent an appendectomy in November. He ended a nine-month title drought in Buenos Aires on clay three weeks ago.
   "Maybe with more victories on my shoulders, (after) being outside of the competition for several months, maybe I will win that match because I will not play a return like this," Nadal said.
   "But is normal that you are a little bit more nervous in that moment than usual. It's true that I didn't compete at that level of intensity for a long time. This is a big improvement for me. I was very focused, playing with positive energy for three hours." 
   Raonic broke Nadal for the only time in the match for 6-5 in the third set on a floater that landed just inside the baseline. By the time Nadal retreated to the ball, he could only flick a backhand long.
   Raonic then served out the match. He showed little emotion during the battle or afterward.
   "That's just the way I am," said the 24-year-old Canadian, widely considered as a potential Grand Slam champion. "It's really great what I was able to do today, and I'm very happy with it, but I don't let myself get caught up, because this isn't where it ends. There is a lot more that I want to achieve this week.
   "It's always about what I need to do next to get better. It's always been like that."
   Raonic took some pleasure in ending talk of a "Big Four" semifinals.
   "I guess (it's nice), because you want to prove people wrong in that sense," said Raonic, who won the last four SAP Open titles (2011-13) in San Jose before the tournament folded. "But I can't control what people say. I just try to get in my own system, in my own bubble, and focus on things that I do have control over." 

Stars come out at Indian Wells

Australian Open champion Li Na is
seeded first in the BNP Paribas Open
at Indian Wells. Photo by Paul Bauman

   INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Women's first-round matches in the BNP Paribas Open began Wednesday.
   But other than Shuai Peng's 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 victory over 2009 champion Vera Zvonareva, the highlights came in the interview room.
   Shortly after the loss by Zvonareva, the 2010 Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion coming back from shoulder surgery, the WTA tour held its all-access hour (actually two hours) as the top eight women's seeds met the media one by one. All 32 men's and 32 women's seeds receive byes in the opening round.
   As usual, all the top women except Serena Williams are here. The world No. 1 has boycotted the tournament since a 2001 incident in which her sister Venus defaulted just before their 2001 semifinal. Fans booed, and some allegedly made racist comments to the family.
   Following are highlights from Wednesday's interviews (seeding, world ranking in parentheses):
   Li Na, China (1, 2) — The two-time Grand Slam singles champion (2011 French Open and this year's Australian Open), who turned her acceptance speech in Melbourne into a comedy routine, on whether it's easy to find her name at the top of the draw: "It's always easy to find my name because it's the shortest ever. I have to say thanks to my mom."
   Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland (2, 3) — The 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, on turning 25 today: "A lot of players are 16, 17, 18 years old. This is like sometimes eight years difference, which is a lot, right? So, of course, I don't feel young anymore."
   Victoria Azarenka, Belarus (3, 4) — The two-time Grand Slam singles champion (2012 and 2013 Australian Open) and 2012 Indian Wells winner, on how she'd like to change sports: "I want to inspire kids to have fun playing tennis, not just to be pushed to play tennis, because I see that a lot. Being a (professional) tennis player, you go straight from 14 (years old) to 25. You miss that window because you've got to be responsible, you've got to be professional. Helping kids is (like going back to) childhood, and I love that.
   "I just had my first charity event (for Children's Hospital Los Angeles), and it has been my dream to be able to do that. This was just the beginning. I have so many ideas, so many projects to (work on), so I'm really excited."

Maria Sharapova, seeded fourth, will defend her BNP
Paribas Open title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Maria Sharapova, Russia (4, 5) — The four-time Grand Slam singles champion, and defending and two-time Indian Wells champion, on returning to her hometown of Sochi for the Winter Olympics and visiting the wall she hit against as a child: "I think I started playing because I was so bored watching my father play. I just took a racket — it happened to be Yevgeny's racket because my father would play with Yevgeny Kafelnikov's rackets — and I would just go on my own and hit against the wall. I kept doing it and doing it, and little by little I started playing with other kids, and it became more competitive."
   Angelique Kerber, Germany (5, 6) — The two-time singles semifinalist in Grand Slams (2011 U.S. Open and 2012 Wimbledon) and Indian Wells (2012 and 2013) on the only time she has met countrywoman Steffi Graf, two years ago at Wimbledon: "I was so nervous that I have no idea what advice she gave me. It was nice to meet her because she is my idol."
   Simona Halep, Romania (6, 7) — The WTA's Most Improved Player last year, on having more media obligations since cracking the top 10 for the first time in January: "It's a new style of my life now, and I have to enjoy (it). I don't know how to say ... I have to do this, so it's OK."

No. 7 seed Jelena Jankovic won the
BNP Paribas Open in 2010. Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Jelena Jankovic, Serbia (7, 8) — The former world No. 1 and 2010 Indian Wells champion on her new house in San Diego: "It's beautiful. I was just there, but it rained for three days. That was unusual. I practiced for two days on my own court, then the rain was just ... I said, 'Where are we, in England or San Diego?' "
   Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic (8, 9) — On the best advice she received after winning Wimbledon in 2011: "I remember when my agent told me that my life is going to be totally different ... but it wasn't really advice."   
   Here are links to the men's and women's draws and Thursday's order of play:
   http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=2014&Draw=ms
   http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?Year=2014&Draw=ls
   http://www.bnpparibasopen.com/Schedules/Live-OOP.aspx

Former top-15 player heads Gold River field

   Elena Bovina, who reached No. 14 in the world in 2005, and promising Tennys Sandgren head the updated entry lists for their respective professional tournaments during the next two weeks in the Sacramento area.
   Qualifying is set for Sunday and Monday in the FSP Women's USTA $50,000 Challenger at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River. Main-draw matches are scheduled for Tuesday through June 3.
   The men's $15,000 Tennis Town Pro Tennis at Park Terrace begins with qualifying on June 2 and ends June 10. The tournament will be held at the Park Terrace Swim & Tennis Club in south Sacramento.  
   The top three early entrants in the FSP Challenger -- No. 139 Julia Cohen, No. 152 Tetiana Luzhanska and No. 156 CoCo Vandeweghe -- withdrew along with other players. Cohen and Vandeweghe, a member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis, remain alive in qualifying for the French Open, which begins Sunday.
   Bovina, whose career was derailed by shoulder and foot injuries, is the highest-ranked remaining player at No. 243. Other entrants include Capitals Yasmin Schnack, a Sacramento-area resident, and Asia Muhammed; Maria Sanchez of Modesto; and Alexandra Stevenson, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1999 and the daughter of basketball legend Julius Erving.
   Meanwhile, 264th-ranked Matt Reid of Australia pulled out of the Park Terrace tournament. That tentatively makes the 20-year-old Sandgren, ranked No. 317, the top seed.
   Also set to play are Chris Guccione, a 6-foot-7 left-hander from Australia who reached No. 67 in the world in 2008; Devin Britton, the 2009 NCAA champion as a Mississippi freshman; and Bjorn Fratangelo, who last year joined John McEnroe as the only Americans to win the French Open boys singles title in the Open Era.
   Bovina, a 29-year-old Russian, is by far the most accomplished player in the FSP Challenger. In fact, the 6-foot-2 right-hander has a Grand Slam title to her credit. In 2004, Bovina and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia defeated Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes for the Australian Open mixed doubles title.
   Bovina also reached the mixed doubles final of the 2002 French Open with Mark Knowles, a longtime doubles star for the Capitals.
   In singles, Bovina reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 U.S. Open and the fourth round of the 2003 Australian Open and 2005 French Open.
   Bovina has won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA tour, the major leagues of women's tennis, and she played on Russia's victorious Fed Cup team in 2005.
   Sandgren has won four singles crowns on the Futures circuit, equivalent to the low minor leagues in baseball, since reaching the NCAA singles semifinals last year at Stanford as a Tennessee sophomore and turning pro. He was not named after tennis.

   “It was my great-grandfather’s name,” Sandgren, from Gallatin, Tenn., was quoted as saying in last year's Tennessee media guide. “He was also Tennys Sandgren. He did not play tennis. No relation to the sport of tennis. It’s Swedish. And a family name.”

   FSP Challenger tickets, which begin at $5, can be purchased at www.goldriverchallenger.com or at the tournament. Admission to the Park Terrace tourney is free.
   NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. -- Stanford junior Stacey Tan, last year's runner-up from Lakewood in the Los Angeles area, lost to Rice's Natalie Beazant, a freshman from England, 7-5, 6-2 in a first-round matchup of unseeded players in women's singles.  
   Sixth seed and defending champion Jana Juricova of Cal outclassed Kate Turvy of Northwestern 6-3, 6-1. Also advancing with easy victories were Stanford's Nicole Gibbs, seeded third, and Mallory Burdette, seeded fifth. Burdette will meet Washington's Denise Dy, a senior from San Jose who beat Marianne Jodoin of Fresno State 6-4, 7-6 (3).
   Cal freshman Zsofi Susanyi, seeded 9-16, downed Nebraska's Mary Weatherholt 6-4, 7-5, but two other Bears lost. Tayler Davis, a junior from San Jose, fell to Joelle Kissell of North Carolina State 7-5, 6-1, and Anett Schutting succumbed to Lindsey Hardenbergh of Virginia 6-1, 6-4. Katie Le of the University of Santa Clara fell to Abigail Tere-Apisah of Georgia State 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-0.
   On the men's side, Stanford senior Bradley Klahn returned to the site of his 2010 NCAA singles crown and knocked off fourth-seeded Jarmere Jenkins of Virginia 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round. Klahn, a 6-foot left-hander from the San Diego suburb of Poway, is unseeded at No. 36 in the national rankings after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in the offseason.
  Stanford senior Ryan Thacher fell to Gonzalo Escobar of Texas Tech 6-3, 7-6 (5).
  Both Cal men lost to Mississippi State players, one from the Sacramento area. No. 9-16 seed Artem Ilyushin, a senior from Granite Bay, routed Ben McLachlan 6-1, 6-3, and George Coupland rallied past senior Nick Andrews of Folsom in the Sacramento area 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4.
   On Tuesday, USC won its fourth consecutive NCAA men's title and Florida its second straight women's crown. The top-ranked Trojans (33-1) scored a 4-2 victory over No. 2 Virginia (29-2) in a rematch of last year's final at Stanford, and the Gators (27-1) coasted to a 4-0 win over No. 1 UCLA (26-3).
   USC and Florida were led Steve Johnson and Allie Will, respectively. Both are ranked No. 1 nationally in  singles.

   Bank of the West Classic -- Jelena Jankovic and Nadia Petrova -- formerly ranked No. 1 and 3 in the world, respectively -- will join defending champion Serena Williams and two-time winner Marion Bartoli in this summer's Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

   Jankovic played in the tournament from 2002 through 2006 and in 2009, reaching the quarterfinals three times. The 27-year-old Serb, now ranked No. 21, has won 12 singles titles and one doubles crown on the WTA tour. She gained the final of the U.S. Open in 2008.

   Petrova, a 29-year-old Russian, will make her fourth appearance in the Bank of the West Classic. She lost in the first round in 2003 and 2008 and the second round in 2009. Petrova, now ranked No. 29, has won 10 singles and 20 doubles crowns on the WTA circuit, and she has reached the singles quarterfinals or better in all four Grand Slam tournaments.

   Tickets to the Bank of the West Classic, July 9-15 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the Stanford campus, are available at (866) WTA-TIXS or http://www.bankofthewestclassic.com/.

   Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang -- all International Tennis Hall of Famers from the United States -- will play a series of exhibition matches July 11-13.

   Admission to qualifying, July 7-8, is free. 

   Clijsters to retire (again) -- Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters announced she will retire, for the second time, after this year's U.S. Open. The Belgian, who will turn 29 on June 8, has captured the singles title at Flushing Meadows three times.

   Clijsters has won the Bank of the West Classic four times but hasn't played in the tournament since 2006. She has not entered this year, either. 

   Open de Nice Cote d'Azur in Nice, France -- Qualifier Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native who's scheduled to play five matches for the Capitals, lost to Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of the clay-court tournament. 

   However, wild cards Querrey and John Isner upset second-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and David Marrero of Spain 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of doubles.

   Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, the 1998 NCAA doubles champions from Stanford, eked out a 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 tiebreak win over Daniele Bracciali of Italy and Jamie Murray of Great Britain to reach the semifinals.

   The Bryans, the 34-year-old twin sons of Capitals coach Wayne Bryan, will face third-seeded Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands Antilles. Qureshi and Rojer defeated  Scott Lipsky, an NCAA doubles runner-up in 2002 from Stanford, and Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind., 6-3, 6-2. 

   World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany -- Folsom resident Dmitry Tursunov went 1-1 as Russia lost to Serbia 2-1 in the Power Horse World Team Cup on clay in Dusseldorf, Germany.
   Tursunov lost to Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2 and teamed with Igor Kunitsyn to beat Miki Jankovic and Nenad Zimonjic 7-5, 7-6 (6).  It was Tursunov's first victory in singles or doubles since he and Zimonjic reached the doubles semifinals at Doha in the first week of the year.
   Tursunov, a 29-year-old Moscow native, is playing his second tournament since missing three months with a strained tendon in his left wrist,
   Russia, 0-2 in the Blue Group, will finish round-robin play against Croatia. The winners of the Blue Group and the Red Group will meet in Saturday's final. 
   French Open -- Mardy Fish, the top-ranked American man at No. 10 in the world, withdrew from the year's second Grand Slam tournament because of fatigue. Fish, who has played only one match since late March, is still scheduled to play on grass at Queen's Club in London and at Wimbledon before joining the Capitals for home matches on July 12 and July 13.
   Taiwan's Jimmy Wang, who trains with Tursunov in Granite Bay, lost to Pedro Sousa of Portugal 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of French Open qualifying.  
   ITF Women's Circuit in Sumter, S.C. -- Romana Tedjakusuma, an Indonesian living in Tracy, dismissed Nika Kukharchuk of Russia 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the $10,000 Palmetto Pro Open in Sumter, S.C. 
   In the opening round of doubles, qualifiers Tedjakusuma and Diana Ospina of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., routed American wild cards Madeleine Kobelt and Komal Safdar 6-2, 6-1.
   Tedjakusuma, 35, is ranked No. 732 in the world. She reached No. 82 at 17 years old in 1994 but left the circuit to attend Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La. 

TV SCHEDULE

(All times PDT)

   Sunday -- French Open, early rounds, ESPN2, 2-7 a.m. (live); Tennis Channel,
7 a.m.-noon (live); NBC, 9 a.m.-noon (live); Tennis Channel, 4-7 p.m. (French Open Tonight). 
   Monday-June 1 -- French Open, early rounds, ESPN2, 2-7 a.m. (live); Tennis Channel,
7 a.m.-4 p.m. (live), 4-7 p.m. (French Open Tonight).

CALENDAR

   Through Monday -- NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships, men and women, Athens, Ga., www.georgiadogs.com, www.ncaa.com.
   Sunday-June 3 -- $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger, Gold River Racquet Club, 2201 Gold Rush Drive, Gold River, www.goldriverchallenger.com.
   SUNDAY-JUNE 10 -- FRENCH OPEN, www.rolandgarros.com.
   June 2-10 -- $15,000 Sacramento Men's Futures, Park Terrace Swim & Tennis Club, 5500 Parkfield Court, Sacramento, www.parkterraceprotennis.org.
   June 9-10, 16-18 -- NorCal 18 Junior Sectional Championships, Sacramento State, www.norcal.usta.com.
   June 9-17 -- $15,000 Chico Men's Futures, Chico Racquet Club & Resort, 1629 Manzanita Ave.
Chico, www.chicoracquetclub.com.
   JUNE 25-JULY 8 -- WIMBLEDON, www.wimbledon.com.
   July 7-15 -- WTA, Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, www.bankofthewestclassic.com.
   July 9 -- World TeamTennis, Sacramento Capitals' season opener at Boston, 4 p.m., www.saccaps.com.

   July 12 -- World TeamTennis, Capitals' home opener (with Mardy Fish) vs. Kansas City, Sunrise Marketplace Stadium, Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, 7:35 p.m., www.saccaps.com.

PRO RANKINGS

   Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Bob Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 3 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mike Bryan, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- No. 3 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, Sacramento Capitals (2012) of World TeamTennis -- No. 10 in singles (-1), No. 724 in doubles (-268).
   John Paul Fruttero, Cal All-American in 2001 and 2002 -- No. 92 in doubles (-9), unranked in singles.
   Mark Knowles, Capitals (2001-07, 2009-12), three-time World TeamTennis Male MVP (2001, 2005 and 2007) -- No. 82 in doubles (-2), unranked in singles.
   Scott Lipsky, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 38 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Conor Niland, 2006 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year and two-time All-American at Cal -- No. 341 in singles (+2), unranked in doubles.
   Sam Querrey, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012) -- No. 71 in singles (+18), No. 61 in doubles (-1).
   Dmitry Tursunov, Folsom resident -- No. 87 in singles (-1), No. 242 in doubles (-17).
   Jimmy Wang, Folsom resident -- No. 192 in singles (+3), No. 381 in doubles (+2).
   Pedro Zerbini, All-Pacific-10 Conference first team at Cal (2009-11) -- No. 685 in singles (-2), No. 1,397 in doubles (-6).

Women

   Raquel Kops-Jones, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 24 in doubles (-1), No. 725 in singles (-4).
   Asia Muhammed, Capitals (2012) -- No. 196 in doubles (+10), No. 469 in singles (+5).
   Maria Sanchez, Modesto resident -- Career-high No. 146 in doubles (no change), No. 283 in singles (no change).

   Yasmin Schnack, Elk Grove resident, Capitals (2011-12) -- No. 148 in doubles (-1), No. 394 in singles (no change).
   Romana Tedjakusuma, Tracy resident -- No. 732 in singles (-5), unranked in doubles.

   CoCo Vandeweghe, Capitals (2009, 2012) -- No. 156 in singles (-1), No. 291 in doubles (-7).

Grand Slam finally completed

   MELBOURNE, Australia — It took decades, but I completed a Grand Slam on Sunday.
   Not as a player, of course.
   I've now attended Wimbledon, the French Open, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open either as a journalist or spectator.
   The final and most difficult piece of the puzzle was the Australian Open — not so much because of the distance but because of the timing.
    But about six months ago, I received an e-mail from Dick Gould, who led the Stanford men to 17 NCAA team titles in 38 years as head coach (1966-2004), and his wife, Anne, who coached the Cardinal to its first NCAA women's crown in any sport (1978), saying they were taking a group to this year's Australian Open. I knew both from covering their teams for the Stanford newspaper as a student there in the mid-1970s.
   The tour was organized by Tennis Ventures owners Chadwick and Camilla Byrd, our guides on this trip. Chadwick and Camilla met at Boise State, where Chadwick played strong safety for the 1994 team that lost to Youngstown State in the NCAA Division I-AA (now Football Championship Series) title game. Youngstown State was coached by Jim Tressel, who went on to glory and infamy at Ohio State. Chadwick is from Spokane, Wash., and Camilla from Norway.
   The trip — three days in Sydney, five days in Melbourne (including playing tennis on various surfaces in both cities) and a five-day extension to New Zealand — looked too good to pass up.
   So, 41 years after my first Grand Slam, Wimbledon, our group attended Sunday night's session at Rod Laver Arena. With a capacity of only 14,820, it doesn't seem to have a bad seat.
   From our perch only eight rows up at one corner of the court, we watched Swiss maestro Roger Federer dissect 19-year-old Australian sensation Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and top-ranked Carolina Wozniacki hold off former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-0, 7-5.
   Federer wields the racket like a baton, commanding the ball to do whatever he wants. He blasts serves to the corners, rifles forehands and one-handed backhands, hits feathery drop shots and effortlessly hits backhand overheads, the toughest shot in tennis. By the third set, Tomic was shaking his head in disbelief in his second career match against the 16-time Grand Slam singles champion. 
   Wozniacki, who has great offensive and defensive skills at 5-foot-11, had a game point for a 6-0, 5-1 lead. Jankovic leveled at 5-5, but Wozniacki broke back and closed out the match.
   Earlier Sunday, we played on clay and grass at the stately Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the former home of the Australian Open. We were required to wear predominantly white, the men with collared shirts, at the 8,000-member club. Kooyong — with its remodeled clubhouse, rich history and manicured courts (26 grass, 22 clay and three Plexicushion) — and Wimbledon are the nicest tennis clubs I've ever seen.
   So which Grand Slam is the best? They're all great, but I'll take Wimbledon. There's nothing like Centre Court, aptly called "the cathedral of tennis."

Advantage, Serbia: Tiny nation becomes power

   While training indoors during the winter at the Partizan Tennis Club in Belgrade, Serbia, in the early 1990s, Dusan Vemic couldn't help but notice a precocious 6-year-old on the next court.
   Vemic was 17 at the time. The boy's name was Novak Djokovic.
   "He was always an interesting little kid," recalled Vemic, who has played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis for the past two seasons. "He was like a little professor. You could have a serious conversation with a 6-year-old. It doesn't happen that often.
   "He was talking about things he needed to work on and how to warm up. He was like a professional tennis player. He was not playing tennis; he was working tennis."
   Eight years later, Vemic played on the Davis Cup team when Djokovic was brought in as a hitting partner.
   "You could see he was a special talent," Vemic said. "He was a sponge as well. He would take all the advice we would give him. That's another quality he has. He will continue to get better and be a great champion when he looks back."
   Djokovic recently completed one of the greatest years in tennis history. He won three Grand Slam singles titles and 10 overall, rose to No. 1 in the world and went 70-6 (with two of the losses resulting from retirements), including 6-0 against Rafael Nadal (all in finals) and 4-1 against Roger Federer.
   And Djokovic is just the beginning for Serbia. Against all odds, the tiny country bombed by NATO forces in 1999 has produced four No. 1 players in the world in the past three years. Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic (both in women's singles) and Nenad Zimonjic (men's doubles) all climbed to the top in 2008.
   In the men's game, Serbia also has No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic and No. 22 Viktor Troicki. With Djokovic leading the way, the nation won its first Davis Cup title last year.
   How has Serbia, smaller in area than South Carolina and somewhat larger in population than Dallas-Fort Worth, become a tennis power?
   "It's definitely the spirit," said Serbia's Ilija Bozoljac, the runner-up at Challengers in Aptos in July and Tiburon in 2009. "Kids are really competitive and hungry. That's the key. If you lose in Serbia a couple of times, you feel ashamed.
   "If you're 200 in the world, it means nothing in Serbia," continued Bozoljac, a flashy player who uses two hands on both sides. "In the States, everyone thinks you're really good, which you are. But (the Serbian) mentality makes you want to go for more. In the States, it's the opposite. You can get a sponsor and support, but players are getting spoiled."
   The poor economy in Serbia has a lot to do with the motivation of juniors and their parents. According to the U.S. Department of State, the official unemployment rate last April was 22.2 percent.
   "Serbian kids are fighting for their life," said Vemic, a crowd pleaser with great athleticism who reached the doubles semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and Australian Open in 2010. "U.S. kids don't have that as the last option. They have education, a good lifestyle and many more opportunities. Serbian kids are a little more hungry. We've been struggling (economically) the last 20 years, that's for sure."
   Added Djokovic in the New York Times last September: "There is something in the mentality that obviously helps us, because we have all experienced the war, we have all experienced tough times, to have the right conditions to become a professional player."
   Jankovic agreed.
   "When you get used to (those) conditions and not-so-good facilities like some other countries have, I think it makes you stronger," she told espnW.com in September. "You feel good especially when you come to playing on those perfect courts like you have in the States. ... You feel like you're in heaven and you're ready for everything.
   "When it comes to our cases, we earned it the hard way. We came from a small country without really a tradition in tennis. We came a long way. It shows it doesn't matter where you come from, what kind of facilities you have. If you have the will and the desire and the motivation, the hunger to succeed, you can do it, so I think we showed that."
   Vemic said Serbia's rise to power in tennis has been "like a wave." On the men's side, he and Zimonjic, both 35, came first. Then came Tipsarevic, 27, Troicki, 25, and Djokovic, 24. On the women's side, Monica Seles, 38, paved the way for Jankovic, 26, and Ivanovic, 24.
   "There were a couple of good guys before Novak, Ana and Jelena became the best in the world," Vemic said. "Tipsarevic pulled everyone in the top 100. Novak was right behind at 16, 17 years old. Jelena was the No. 1 junior, and Ana also was good in the juniors. The whole timing of one of the veterans breaking through to the top level gave the others confidence. We all train together from time to time."
   Serbia's success, Vemic added, "makes me feel good. I enjoy every good result. I can only hope and believe that I contributed a little bit."
   Blake withdraws -- James Blake, the runner-up in the Sacramento Challenger in October, reportedly has withdrawn from the Brisbane International, which begins Sunday, and the Australian Open, Jan. 15-29, for personal reasons.
   Blake, 32, hopes to begin his year at the SAP Open in San Jose, where he reached the singles semifinals in 2009 and 2003 and won the doubles title in 2004 with Mardy Fish. Next year's tournament is set for Feb. 13-19.
   National junior tournament -- No. 22 seed Catherine Bellis of Atherton defeated Jaclyn Switkes of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the girls 14 quarterfinals at the USTA Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
   Also in the girls 14s, No. 31 Jenna Friedel of Mill Valley lost to top-seeded Emma Higuchi of Los Angeles 6-2, 6-1.
   In boys 12 singles, third-seeded Sam Riffice of Roseville beat No. 22 Jenson Brooksby of Sacramento 6-3, 6-0 to advance to the quarters. No. 21 Paul Barretto of Bel Tiburon fell to No. 1 Noah Makarome of Wesley Chapel, Fla., 6-3, 6-3.
   Results of the boys and girls 18s and 16s in Scottsdale, Ariz., were not available.

Sharapova: From Russia with love

   At 7 years old, Maria Sharapova boarded an airplane with her father, Yuri, in Russia and headed to the United States. Maria's mother, Yelena, stayed behind to finish college and await a visa.
   Yuri had $700 in his pocket that he had borrowed from Maria's grandparents. Neither he nor Maria spoke English.   
   They were headed to the famed Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla., to pursue Yuri's dream of stardom for Maria.
   "When they came, they had less than nothing," Bollettieri recalled. "They certainly didn't come from money, my man. It was tough. Anytime you split up a family and don't have a pot to pee in, it's a big gamble. But it paid off."
   Figurately and literally. With her prodigious talent, towering height, cover-girl looks and Marine-like discipline, Sharapova has become the world's richest female athlete. She grossed $24.5 million last year, according to Forbes magazine. Only $651,279 came from prize money. Sharapova earned the rest from endorsements -- with companies such as Nike, Sony Ericsson and Tiffany -- and appearance fees.
   After a first-round bye, Sharapova is scheduled to play her opening match in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford on Wednesday at 7 p.m. She is seeded second behind Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, who beat Sharapova in a shriek-fest in last year's final. Unseeded Serena Williams, who returned in June after missing 11 months because of serious health problems, could meet Sharapova in the quarterfinals.
   A native of frigid, bleak Siberia, Sharapova lives in sunny, idyllic Manhattan Beach, Calif. The 24-year-old Russian citizen not only speaks English fluently, she has no accent. She is engaged to Slovenian Sasha Vujacic, who was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Jersey Nets last December.
   Formerly ranked No. 1 in the world, the 6-foot-2 Sharapova has fought her way back to No. 5 after undergoing surgery on her right (serving) shoulder in October 2008 for chronic pain.
   "I'm very happy and proud to be where I'm from," Sharapova, an only child, told reporters last month at Wimbledon, where she reached the final after winning the 2004 title at 17. "I know that my family and I have been through many challenges."
   During a tough stretch in 2007, Sharapova wrote in a blog: "I know it's as tough for my fans to handle my losses as it is for me. But let me point something out. I didn't leave my mom at the age of seven for nothing. I didn't spend six hours a day practicing in the Florida sun at the age of nine for nothing. I didn't sleep in little cots for three years, eating oatmeal out of a packet while playing in the middle of nowhere for nothing. All this has helped me build character and there's no better asset than being able to stand up for yourself."
   It all began with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. Sharapova's parents lived 100 miles away in Gomel, Belarus, and Yelena became pregnant with Maria three months after the explosion. Worried about radiation, the couple moved to the industrial town of Nyagan in western Siberia, and Maria was born the next year.
   Yuri worked in the oil fields for four years and saved enough money to move the family to the resort of Sochi, the hometown of former world No. 1 player Yevgeny Kafelnikov and site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on the Black Sea.
   One day when Maria was 4, she got bored watching her father play tennis and picked up a racket. Veteran coach Yuri Yutkin was amazed by her hand-eye coordination and offered to work with her. Kafelnikov obtained a child-sized racket, not easy to come by during the breakup of the Soviet Union, for her.
   When Maria was 6, Martina Navratilova spotted her hitting balls at a clinic during the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Impressed, Navratilova recommended that Maria train at the Bollettieri academy.
   Yuri worked odd jobs in Florida to pay for Maria's lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. It would be two years before Yelena could join them.
   At 9, Sharapova earned a scholarship to live and train at the academy. She endured constant teasing from roommates twice her age.
   "She was very thin and had something very few have," Bollettieri said. "She was a fierce competitor with tremendous focus. When she was 12, (Tatiana) Golovin, (Jelena) Jankovic and Sharapova were here at the same time. Maria scared the s--- out of them.
   "She is where she is because she's very disciplined. She doesn't pray for you to miss. She goes for her shot. She has had tremendous adversity with her shoulder injury, and she has fought her way through it."
   Bollettieri also credits Sharapova's father.
   "Her daddy did a great job. He didn't know his fanny from his elbow when he came here. But he was smart enough to listen to me and the other coaches. He knew when to get out," Bollettieri said.
   Sharapova won the girls 16-and-under title of the Eddie Herr Championships at 13, made her professional debut at 14 and won her first WTA tournament at 16.
   Showing uncommon poise, Sharapova upset top seed and two-time defending champion Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4 for the 2004 Wimbledon title. Sharapova added the 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open crowns before having surgery and missing 10 months.
   Sharapova has struggled with her serve since then but pronounced her shoulder fit during a recent conference call. She was encouraged by reaching the Wimbledon final, in which she lost to Petra Kvitova, a 6-foot left-hander from the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4.
   "It gives me a tremendous amount of confidence that I've been doing something right in the last few months and I've been getting better," said Sharapova, who also reached the French Open semifinals on clay, her worst surface, in June.
   Bollettieri was less sanguine.
   "Maria Sharapova got whacked (in the Wimbledon final)," he wrote in the London-based Independent newspaper. "I have never, ever seen that before, and this is a girl I've been watching since she was 9 years old. Kvitova absolutely knocks the stuffing out of the ball.
   "By the end of the match, Maria was five to eight feet behind the baseline. I've never seen her pushed like that before, and there was nothing she could do about it. We have seen a new power emerge in the women's game."
   It's not Sharapova's nature to give up, though. Reflecting at Wimbledon on her injury layoff, she said: "I've had many opportunities to say that I've had enough or that I've achieved plenty, more than I ever thought I would. Yet I still felt there was something missing. I still felt there was a lot more inside of me when I wanted to play.
   "I did many things," continued Sharapova, who enjoys reading and stamp-collecting in her spare time. "I worked on many projects, and I spent holidays with friends and family (whom) maybe I wouldn't get a chance to (see) in a regular tennis season. But at the end of the day, those didn't mean anything compared to what it means to win tennis matches."