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WTA
Tour Championships
Brad Falkner | November
15 , 2004
 Maria
Sharapova rose to the occasion and collapsed on court after
her nearly two-hour emotional roller coaster ride ended. The
17-year old Russian concluded a stellar season by outlasting
Serena Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the WTA year end Champoinship.
In her debut appearance in the WTA year end Championships
Maria Sharapova accomplished only what one other woman had
done in the 31 year history of the Championships. The last
time a first timer claimed the Championship title, Serena
Williams defeated Lindsay Davenport in 2001, by virtue of
a walk over, due to Davenport’s right knee injury.
Both players served brilliantly to open the match. Sharapova
suffered only the loss of one point in her first three service
games. At four games all Sharapova held a 40-love lead, only
to surrender the next five points, handing Williams the first
service break of the match. Williams then held to take the
first set 6-4.
With the level of play mounting in each game Sharapova wrestled
control of the match by implementing a change of tactics into
her game plan. After giving up the early break in the third
game of the second set Sharapova broke back in the ensuing
game. Sharapova then did something very becoming of a Wimbledon
champion; she attacked the net and dared to serve and volley.
The results paid handsome dividends as she did not surrender
the loss of a game for the remainder of the set.
 At
the end of the second set Williams called for a medical time
out. Williams trailed 5-2 in the second set when she called
for a trainer after straining an abdominal muscle. The injury
would prove to be her undoing.
Following the injury time-out Williams was not sure if she
could even finish the match; upon stepping up to the service
line it was apparent she had little to offer. Unable to use
her body Williams had to rely solely on her right arm spinning
her serve into the court at less than 70 mph. Sharapova was
baffled by the Elena Dementieva-esq spin serve, and even more
rattled by the sheer force that Williams could still muster
into her ground strokes.
After receiving treatment from the WTA trainer, Williams was
got a boost from the near sold out Staples center crowd, who
offered a hometown standing ovation. Moved by the reception
Williams teed off.
“After she got the medical treatment I could tell that
she had problems serving. But on the ground strokes she was
just teeing off on everything,” said Sharapova. The
combination of the off-speed serving and the sizzling sting
of her ground strokes confounded Sharapova. In a 12-minute
span of stunning tennis, Williams won 16 of 18 points to take
a 4-0 lead.
“Well besides her serve, she didn’t look injured
once she was playing. So she was actually being really tough.
And I couldn’t capitalize on the weak” Sharapova
said.
Between the apparent pain that Williams was in and Sharapova
ability to pull her emotions together the matched turned.
At 0-4 Sharapova was finally able to hold serve for the first
time in the final set and then stream rolled what was left
of an injured opponent to win 6-4.
“I just started hitting the ball as hard as I can- as
I could I should say. And I think I lived off of her mistakes.
Once she stopped making them she was able to come back and
win the match,” said Williams. “I don’t
know how I was able to stay out there. I can’t imagine
to go hit a serve right now or anything.”
“It’s unreal," said Sharapova, who collected
a winners check of $1 million. "I still can’t believe
it. It’s an amazing end to an amazing year."
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