The last Grand Slam tournament of the season was marked by the success of Russian tennis players. Maria Sharapova beat Justin Henin-Ardenne in the final, while Mikhail Yuzhny and Nikolai Davydenko reached the semifinals. “SPORT today” has collected the most interesting of the first responses of the American and English press about the performance of our athletes.
Before the start of the tournament, Sharapova claimed that she relied more on her physical fitness than on equipment. Then these words seemed to be an excuse for possible failure - now, after winning the title, they became confirmation that Maria absolutely correctly evaluated her own strengths.
Despite winning the second major title in his career, Sharapova remains a child in her soul. Winning the US Open finals, Maria fell to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and then jumped up and jumped on the court. Then she tried to climb the podium to share the joy with her father, but could not do it without the help of a steward. Finally she dropped the lid from the goblet when she lifted it above her head.
Associated press
The main result of US Open-2006: Maria Sharapova conquered New York. Her love for this city of contrasts was reflected even in her tennis uniform - a black Sharapova dress in the style of Audrey Hepburn is suitable for both a candlelit dinner and a nightclub. And, of course, for great tennis.
Sharapova does not spend so much time in New York, but she perfectly learned the vitality, so inherent in this city. US Open was actually a home tournament for Sharapova. Maria had the most powerful support from the stands and the press, which allowed her to liberate herself psychologically and play aggressive, attacking tennis, defeating the first and second racket of the world in succession.
Even after the victory, Maria did not lose concentration. Journalists surrounded her, trying to ask for help from the rostrum: Sharapova’s father picked up a banana when he wanted his daughter to refresh herself between games. "I just won the US Open and the last thing I want to talk about is bananas." Decent champion's answer.
Brian Cleary, usopen.org
Sharapova was everywhere: on New York billboards, fan posters, in ads on CBS. And on the court, in fact, there was only one tennis player. Against the background of Maria, Justine Henin-Ardenne, the seventh woman in the history of tennis, who played in the finals of all major tournaments of the year, was lost.
Before the match, the court’s tense silence now and then shouted like “Maria, marry me!” (Maria, marry me!). However, Sharapova’s father was sitting on the podium in a black T-shirt with the inscription “I am calm and relaxed” - the same applied to Mary. At the decisive moment of the first set with a score of 4: 4, she was extremely calm: she won three goals in a row and took the serve to Henin-Ardenne.
In general, Sharapova achieved success thanks to his pitch and hit on the right. Victory balls almost always went exactly under the line, and the percentage of first serve was stable at 72.
Richard Deutsch, Sports Illustrated
Yuzhny achieved success in the match with Nadal thanks to the correctly chosen and very original tactics. Again and again, he sent the ball under Rafael's shock left hand - and this completely confused him: after all, right-handed people usually do not play like that against left-handed people. In addition, Nadal was deprived of the opportunity to use his speed - the ball all the time came directly to him in the body.
John Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
The success of Davydenko at the US Open is a frightening phenomenon. Such a weak tennis player has never entered the top ten. Federer is a very serious rival, but Davydenko did not demonstrate any will to win and made a lot of unforced errors. In the days of Pete Sampras, he would not have reached the hundreds of the best, but now world tennis is in serious decline.
Bbc