Few pros are as demonstrative: Sharapova barks at herself aftereach point, clenches her fist on each stroll to the service line,squeals with each shot. Fewer still show such happiness. How longwill it last? As Sharapova blew kisses, Dokic hoisted her bag andhurried away.
Remember Dokic? Four years ago she was that same blonde girl, twomonths past her 16th birthday, when she rocked Wimbledon byupsetting world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the first round. Twoother girls burst through then too–18-year-old AlexandraStevenson and 17-year-old Mirjana Lucic, both of whom advanced tothe semifinals. This year Stevenson lost in the first round, asshe has at almost every Grand Slam event since the summer of1999. Lucic isn’t even in the WTA media guide anymore.
Dokic sits through her press conferences now and speaks in avoice full of weariness, unimpressed by the questions. Her fatheris no longer a part of her tennis life. “We’ll see,” Dokic sayswhen asked about Sharapova. “We’ve seen a lot of players come andgo.”
Despite her three-set loss on Monday to fellow Russian SvetlanaKuznetsova in the round of 16, Sharapova is tennis’s hottestproperty, ranked 88th only on the computer. She was born inSiberia, but at two her family moved to Sochi to flee radioactivefallout from the Chernobyl disaster. When she was six, herfather, Uri, had her playing a tournament in Moscow, whereMartina Navratilova recommended Nick Bollettieri’s Academy inFlorida. Two years later Maria and her father arrived in Miami,then journeyed to Bollettieri’s uninvited. A coach took her oncourt; Sharapova knocked his hat off with her first stroke. “ThenI hit a few [more] balls, and he called Nick right away,”Sharapova says.
She now works with Robert Lansdorp, legendary coach of TracyAustin, Lindsay Davenport and Pete Sampras, who says Sharapovahas “that quality of a champion: She plays without fear.” She isnearly six feet tall and pounds the ball from the baseline; shegrunts so loudly during play that opponents and observerscomplain. “At times I say to Maria, ‘Just shut up,'” Lansdorpsays.
Sharapova had never advanced past the first round of a Grand Slamevent until last week, but she carries herself with unusualmaturity. She laughs off the photographers, says she findsmodeling boring, doesn’t fight the damning Anna Kournikovacomparison. “Right now it might be my looks or my grunts[attracting the attention], but in a few years, if I become agreat player, it’s not going to be about my looks or my grunts,”she says. “It’s going to be about how I became a champion.”
Sharapova dispatched Ashley Harkleroad, 21st-seeded Elena Bovinaand Dokic before falling to Kuznetsova. “I’m expecting to win,”Sharapova said last Saturday. “I can’t go to a tournamentthinking, Yeah, I’m going to get my ass kicked today, so I mightas well just leave. I mean, I’m very happy and I’m verysurprised. Yes, I’m very young; I’m 16, and I’m in the fourthround at Wimbledon? How odd is that?”
Not so odd anymore. Wimbledon was full last week of girls who hadflashed and faded. While Sharapova charmed reporters with herlaugh and walked past the people pointing at her on the groundsat Wimbledon, Dokic huddled with her boyfriend in the players’restaurant and ate undisturbed. Hingis sat at a table in the sun,retired at 22 and grinning as well-wishers stopped by. She hadwon Wimbledon at 16, but no, Hingis said, she didn’t miss thetour. “I got out at the right time,” Hingis said, happier eventhan the girl who just got in.
