The Sharapova Diaries : 17 to Seventeen
Fear Dear Serena,
Oops! A service fault to start with…
Typos apart….as I holidayed on the scenic beaches of Montenegro last week, my mind for some strange reason drifted back to the recently concluded Wimbledon. 21st Grand Slam title!
Sigh! My tennis career is that old now.
Your talent, your ferocity, your instinct and motivation…it makes me sick!
All these days, I just could not figure out what triggered in you a certain sort of selfish behavior when you play me. While watching the highlights and the presentation ceremony of the Wimbledon Final 2004, I discovered my answer.
The final of Wimbledon 2004 seems so far back in time. Those days, my grunt was bearable and I giggled more than I talked.
It is a certain statement that, today I regret, I made during the presentation ceremony that did not seem to have gone down well with you. Or has it? Did it go so deep down in your memory that you seem to recall it every time you step onto the court against me?
I had said,” Sorry Serena! I had to take this trophy from you for one year. I’m sure there will be one more time or many more times when we will meet in Grand Slams and fight for these trophies. Thanks for giving me a tough match but I’m sorry I had to win today!”
I stuck to my word.
I have so far won Wimbledon once!
As a young 17-year-old, when I dropped down on my knees in disbelief with my face buried in my hands after winning the Wimbledon Final, you already had 6 Grand Slams in your kitty.
By the time I had proved to myself and the world at large that I’m no slob on ice and won my first French Open title, you had 13 Grand Slams.
And when I won it once more, just to prove that my first win at Roland Garros was not fake, you had equaled Federer’s 17.
A quick analysis tells me that even my Pova candies –sweet, sour or tangy – do not sell at the rate at which you are lapping up Grand Slams.
I have tried everything I could over the last 11 years.
I changed coaches. None of them has been able to help me solve the riddle.
I grunt louder. But the louder I grunt, the harder you hit the ball.
I fist pump and shout “Come On!” as loudly as I can! You have outdone me in that department too.
I have followed my famed routine, every single time, between points and made sure that I do not step on any of the tramlines while walking on the court.
I bulked up a little. I learned to execute deft drop shots. I improved my movement on court. But nothing seems to work when I’m up against you.
Your bomb groundstrokes, killer aces and winners from every possible nook and cranny of the court just undo me, no matter how hard I try.
And that recent Facebook wall post that went viral! Trust me; it is a fake Facebook wall! I hope it does not ignite even more fire in you.
You twirl, you shimmy, you do tuck jumps and things I can’t put in words as you win Slam after Slam. Unfortunately, I have not been able to try too many styles of celebration as you invariably get in my way time and again.
Do you know how it feels to get drubbed seventeen times in a row?
Yeah…maybe you know how it feels to get drubbed three times! I should ask Alize Cornet how she did it.
I get asked the same question by the press after every devastating loss. Sometimes I’m so tempted to tell them that you hit as many aces as my double faults! Or is it the other way around?
I hide from them the fact that I gulp down ten packets of Pova candies or more to get over each annihilation and that it still does not work.
But I do take solace from the fact that I’m not the only one in the tennis fraternity who has been downed 17 times in a row.
Tomas Berdych lost to Rafael Nadal 17 times in a row before he finally managed to stem the rot by winning their 18th encounter. How sweet that must have been for Tomas….
I must confess. Over time, your tennis prowess has only made me respect you more and made me wiser. My speech at this year’s Australian Open is proof enough.
From a giggly 17-year-old who defeated you for the first time to a wise woman handed down defeat for the seventeenth straight time, I have come a long way!
However, I do not intend to go any further by losing to you.
I wait eagerly for that day, that day I hear Game. Set. Match. Sharapova and I walk towards you, look straight into your eyes and say.....
No one beats Sharapova 18 times in a row!