2005 Italian Open

	Maria Sharapova in Her Own Words
	Fist Pumping: Pleasure or Ploy?
	Hit 'Em Where They Ain't?
	Tennis in Lake Tahoe

2005 Italian Open -
May 15, 2005

If only the French Open could be held in Rome. Amelie Mauresmo would love it - and probably win it, too. Put the remarkably gifted Mauresmo on clay, grass or cement almost anywhere in the world and she has the ability to beat the very best in the business. But put her on clay in Paris and she folds.

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	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 14 , 2005 Well, that's that then. Maria Sharapova will not become world No1 on Monday, nor in the next few weeks. She had to reach the Italian Open final to put herself in position to take over at the top in the next seven days and she needed to win the title to claim the top spot on Monday. But, instead, the slow, stamina and confidence sapping clay courts finally caught up with Sharapova and she was beaten 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 by Patty Schnyder who will now face Amelie Mauresmo for the trophy. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 13 , 2005 She is a fast learner, is Maria Sharapova. From never having got beyond the quarterfinals of a clay court event in her life (and she has only played seven of them so far at this level) she now finds herself in the last four of the Italian Open and just a hop and a skip away from the world No.1 slot. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 12 , 2005 It's all go at the top. If you are Maria Sharapova and you are within two matches of taking over as the new world No.1, you do not get a moment's peace. Even when she is facing the massed ranks of the Italian press (interspersed with one Brit, a handful of French and the great and good Bud Collins), the phone never stops ringing. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 11 , 2005 While the immediate focus of attention is pinned on Hamburg (chaps) and Rome (chapesses), all eyes are fixed on Paris and the French Open. In just 11 days, the hopefuls and the hopeless will start their campaigns for the second grand slam title of the year. And whether Lleyton Hewitt is there to join them depends on the word from his doctors. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 10 , 2005 It cannot be easy being Maria Sharapova. There are perks, of course, not least of which is being stonkingly rich and stupendously famous by the time she had turned 18, but even so, it cannot be easy. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 08 , 2005 Rafael Nadal’s unstoppable march through the clay court season continued on Sunday when he added the Rome Masters to his bulging racket bag full of trophies, despite being made to work almost impossibly hard by Guillermo Coria in the final. The pair played perhaps the most compelling final of the year so far, battling for a record five hours and 14 minutes before Nadal eventually wrapped up a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 victory. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 07 , 2005 Tiredness is the enemy of all tennis players, particularly on clay, and it was there for all to see in both semi-finals at the Rome Masters on Saturday. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 06 , 2005 It’s six years since Andre Agassi won his French Open title and while not even the Las Vegan’s most ardent supporters would place him amongst the favorites for the 2005 Coupe de Mousquetaires, no-one could fault his preparation for Roland Garros. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 05 , 2005 Revenge is a dish best served on clay if you are Andre Agassi. Agassi beat Ivan Ljubicic 7-6, 6-3 in the third round of the Rome Masters on Thursday, finally getting the better of the man who ruined his Davis Cup comeback by beating him in Carson during Croatia’s first round win over the USA in March. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 04 , 2005 If the clothes maketh the man, then Andy Roddick’s switch to a European label manufacturer seems to be paying off, at least when it comes to playing on the continental red clay of Rome. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 03 , 2005 At this time of year, with the French Open now less than three weeks’ away, those who consider themselves serious contenders for Roland Garros begin to bare their teeth. The Rome Masters, with its relatively fast clay courts that mirror what the conditions will be in Paris, is the perfect place to do it. /// MORE

	/// 2005 ITALIAN OPEN - May 02 , 2005 European red clay has always been a capricious friend to American players but today proved to be one of those rare days when things went right for the USA’s two biggest names. Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi both came through their first round match at the Italian Open unscathed, an optimistic sign ahead of the French Open, which starts in three weeks’ time. /// MORE