pro sports- Maria Sharapova ready for US Open

pro sports

Maria Sharpova

tennis

The lady is a diva. Maria Sharapova, pictured above announced that she is ready for the upcoming US Open tennis match beginning next week in New York City. Maria is ready because she has her tennis outfits all picked out; ones that she will wear during her matches.

The red outfit that she is seen wearing in the photo will be for her evening matches during the tournament. Ms. Sharapova has entirely different outfits, (in different colors) picked out for day matches. All of her outfits are designed to not only accentuate her figure, but pay homage to the Big Apple itself. The sequin pattern in her outfit pictured is supposed to represent images of Manhattan. Maria has stated that she loves New York City, and why wouldn't she? Maria is the Women's defending singles champion at this tournament. Besides that, Maria is young, (just turned 20) single, very attractive and loves the nightlife. Assuming that Maria can ditch her obnoxious coach/father for an evening out on the town, why wouldn't a famous person like Ms. Sharapova not like anything about New York City? NYC is known as the city that never sleeps. Besides Maria's actual practice preparations and tennis matches aside, I doubt that she will be spending much time inside her expensive Manhatten hotel room; I don't care what her room rates are nightly. Maria, although mature for her age, still seems to enjoy life besides that of being a professional, and highly ranked tennis player.

A lengthy stay in New York City for Maria may be dependent on her not meeting certain players early in her draw in the tournament; in particular one well-known American player who has given Maria a rough time so far this year on the circuit. As long as Maria doesn't have to go up against Serena Williams in the 3rd or 4th round, odds are that she will be around to enjoy the NYC scenery for most of the tournament. Earlier this season at the Australian Open, Serena administered an absolute "beat-down", destroying Maria in the final by a score of 6-1, 6-2, or thereabouts. Maria looked completely inept that day, unable to even get points on her own serve with any consistency. When Serena beat Maria again badly several weeks later in a tournament back in the United States, one easily could conclude that Ms. Williams had gotten inside the Russian's head. Serena, however is still suffering the after-effects of a wrist injury which first occurred at Wimbledon this July. Serena just last week pulled out of the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, CT. This tournament is considered a tune -up leading to the US Open. Serena cited her injured wrist as a factor for pulling out of the Pilot Pen. So, perhaps Maria will avoid Serena altogether.

Actually, it has been a pretty ineffective year for Maria in her tennis results on the Women's circuit. Except for the Australian Open, she has not even come close to smelling the final of a Grand Slam event, (losing midway through the tournaments at both the French Open and Wimbledon). Maria has had problems with injuries this year. Early in the season, following the drubbing administered to her at the Australian Open Final by Serena Williams, Maria tweaked her hamstring muscle in one of her legs and missed about a month. She has also been bothered by chronic shoulder injury for most of the year. Media sources revealed that a medical diagnosis determined that Maria is suffering from tendinitis which has afflicted her right shoulder; this being the type of injury that tennis pros often suffer from as a result of repeated stress on the joint. What would cause some level of redemption and enable Maria to salvage her year as a professional would be if she was able to successfully defend her title at the US Open.

Besides her tennis abilities, Maria is all about marketing herself to sponsors and the public, based on her beauty as a female. Not to be chauvinistic, but the public, (heterosexual males in particular) are going to be attracted to a gorgeous, young woman. If she also happens to excel in her sport, then ad agencies are going to fall all over themselves looking to promote her. Maria fits all of these requirements to a tee! She is one of the richest female athletes in any sport, most of her income derived from commercial endorsements and modeling. In Feb. of 2006, Maria was heavily featured in Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue.

All during last year's US Open Maria was featured in a commercial. The advertisement, (and I don't even remember the product being endorsed) was based on a song taken from the "West Side Story" Oscar winning musical movie - "I Feel Pretty". The commercial showed Maria leaving her hotel room in NYC, heading for one of her matches at the US Open. People who she encounters are heard singing the song, (some badly) as she walks by them completely oblivious to their fawning all over her. Instead, she is concentrating on her upcoming match as judged by the look on her face and her demeanor. The message intended in the commercial is that people incorrectly view Maria as nothing but a beautiful woman. They incorrectly surmise that Maria is not to be taken seriously as an athlete and tennis player. This opinion ends, in the commercial, when Maria hits her first stroke from the opponent, and suddenly everyone realizes that she needs to be viewed as something other than just another pretty face. This "I Feel Pretty" commercial had to to have been aired at least 50 times by the networks throughout the two-week tournament last year! I even believe that it was aired on CBS right after Maria won the Women's singles final, moments after Ms. Sharapova cemented victory against her opponent. The commercial was pretty clever, and to be honest what other current female tennis players have the model-like looks to be featured in an advertisement like that? None, currently on the tennis circuit that I know of, and one that the public could recognize as easily as they do Ms. Sharapova. Except for Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters, how many people here in America would recognize a Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Ana Ivanovic, or Marian Bartoli if they were to pass right in front of them on the street? Unless one were a serious tennis fan, practically no one would know who these young ladies were here in the United States. Maria, who immigrated from Russia with her father at a young age because of her early tennis abilities, is recognized as being completely "Americanized" because of her popularity here in this country.

I also clearly remember from last year, events which took place the following day at the National Tennis Center in New York City. It was just before the Men's Final, (won by Roger Federer for a third consecutive time), and it actually was the day after Maria had won the Women's Singles title. As seen on television and captured in a Sports Illustrated magazine article the following week, Maria, again loving the spotlight returned to the Tennis Center. She emerged from a chauffeured limousine clutching the trophy given to the winner. Maria obviously had prepared for the moment, as she was seen wearing an elegant dress which accentuated her long legs. She wore expensive pumps, and her hair had been professionally done, and makeup applied expertly to her face. There was little evidence of the same young lady some 18 hour earlier on Center Court; Maria during her match wearing sneakers, with no makeup on her face, her hair all askew with her efforts, sweating and eliciting her trademark screams/grunts with every stroke hit off of her tennis racket. Instead that afternoon, one saw a young lady who looked as if she had just come from a photo session for a famous magazine shoot. Beaming to the crowd that had gathered to see Maria with the trophy, she was also trailed by dozens of journalists and photographers; all eagerly following Maria as if they were teenaged boys, lusting after her in heat!

That was last year, and it appears that Maria Sharapova is ready to make her grand appearance on the New York City scene beginning next week, as well! Good luck, Maria. I hope that you stay around long enough to make another appearance in the Women's Final!

I welcome any comments to this post!

pro sports

Maria Sharapova

tennis