Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova - The Best and Worst of Times

Recently, my life has taken a turn for the busy. No longer do I have the luxury of planning my study schedule around the order of play of the French open, nor do I have the permanent impression of my rear in my couch from watching Wimbledon 24-hours-a-day. The current stage of my life requires, above all, attendance, which has put a serious dent in my ability to keep up with the goings-on of the ATP and WTA.

Imagine my delight when the first moment I have to watch a full match on TV is a Friday night showdown between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. The tennis gods must have a soft spot for me. I had looked forward to this match all day, forcing a Red Bull into my belly just so I didn’t get the sleepys before the match aired at 11pm.

It’s so fun to watch these two play because they both play a mind game with you without really trying. For the most part, they don’t engage in overt gamesmanship, they don’t call their coaches out onto court every chance they get (I’m lookin’ at you Caroline), and they don’t engage in any false pleasantries or animosities on the court. They get into their opponents’ heads just by playing like machines that are cranked up to “laser strength.”

It’s also important to realize that we generally consider both Serena and Maria to be “veterans” of the tour. They both have multiple versions of themselves that tend to come out occasionally and take us fans back to another time. With Maria there is Vintage Maria, the teenager who won Wimbledon and the US Open on her way to winning the 2008 Australian Open just before her shoulder woes. There is Classic Maria, the just-back-from-injury Maria whose frequency of double faults had all the makings of a good drinking game, and finally Comeback Maria, the one who won a tournament on clay this year on her way to making it to the Wimbledon Final.

Serena is similarly a player who seems to have 9 lives, and her cat-like reflexes don’t do anything to diminish that statement. We’ve seen her rise and fall like the tides of the Pacific Coast through injuries, inconsistencies, and indifferences, but now that we are in the full swing of Comeback Serena v2.0 it’s no longer surprising to hear that she is once again the player to beat.

Last night, I had hoped to see a clash between Comeback Maria and Comeback Serena v2.0, but alas the tennis gods have a sense of humor and decided to play a cruel prank on me instead. Comeback Serena v2.0 was there, but her unfortunate opponent was Classic Maria, who sent so many botched forehands into the stands, she may as well have declared war on them for all of those airstrikes. Serena was like a laser, hitting aces that seemed out of a superhero comic book and returns that make you rub your eyes in an exaggerated motion as if you were in a Looney Toons cartoon and say to yourself “bwaaaaahhhh!???!

Pacific Life Open Announces Largest Domestic TV Package ...

INDIAN WELLS, CA (PRWEB) February 11, 2004 -

–It has never been easier for tennis fans across the country to catch the world’s top pros in action at the Pacific Life Open, as the tournament today announced its domestic television package. ESPN and ESPN2 will televise an unprecedented 35.5 hours of coverage, including 34 hours broadcast live, from the 2004 event, held March 8-21 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Veteran tennis commentators Cliff Drysdale, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver will call all of the action, which includes a variety of daytime and prime time coverage over eight days of play. ESPN2 will provide live coverage of the men’s and women’s finals, back-to-back beginning at noon PT (3 p.m. ET) on Sunday, March 21. Viewers will see matches daily beginning with the early rounds on Sunday, March 14, through the finals.

“We are very pleased to expand our coverage of the Pacific Life Open as part of our on-going commitment to enhance ESPN’s tennis lineup, highlighted by extensive coverage of three Grand Slams,” said Mike Ryan, ESPN director, programming and acquisitions.

Daily live afternoon coverage begins on Sunday, March 14, and continues in two- and four -hour blocks throughout the week. Prime-time action can also be seen nightly from Monday, March 15 through Thursday, March 18. Live final weekend coverage includes both men’s semifinals on Saturday, March 20 (ESPN, 3-7 p.m. ET/noon-4 p.m. PT), and the men’s and women’s finals on Sunday, March 21 (ESPN2, 3-7 p.m. ET/noon-4 p.m. PT).

About ESPN Tennis

ESPN is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and the 25th anniversary of its tennis coverage. The network’s first tennis telecast was just one week after its September 7, 1979 launch. ESPN televised a Davis Cup match — Argentina vs. the U.S. in Memphis, Tenn. on September 14, 1979 — with Drysdale calling the action as John McEnroe defeated Guillermo Vilas and Vitas Gerulaitis defeated Jose-Luis Clerc.

About the Pacific Life Open

The Pacific Life Open, a Tennis Masters Series and WTA Tour Tier 1 event, will be held March 8-21, 2004, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., featuring the top-ranked men’s and women’s players in the world.

Ticket information for the tournament can be obtained by calling the tournament box office at (800) 999-1585 or on the Internet at http://www.PacificLifeOpen.com. Call the box office for more information on the many discounts, special ticket and travel packages and gift certificates that are available. Discounts for Coachella Valley residents, senior citizens, students, USTA members, Champions volunteers and the military are offered in person at the box office. Group and tennis club packages and discounts are also available.

Pratiyogita Darpan

Tennis in Californi, Indian Wells Masters, 2005 Pacific Life Open - Men's Singles, 2004 Pacific Life Open - Men's Singles

Pratiyogita Darpan

Traveling The Tennis Tour, The Men's Professional Tour

Pratiyogita Darpan