Sharapova's back and so is her lack of class

Sharapova's back soon having obviously learned nothing in the way of contrition during her time away. Her agent showed his true colours by rounding on Wozniacki and Razawanka for voicing what many of us feel by inferring they were "journeymen" trying to win a slam in the absence of the other big names like Serena and Azarenka. Better a journeyman than someone who obviously feels she's better and bigger than the sport itself.

She obviously fancies her own chances of winning a slam in Serena's absence. After all, she had diddly squat chance of beating even a pregnant Serena in Paris or anywhere else for that matter. And yes, Miss Sharapova, there are plenty of other players who will be in the draw and will take great delight in bursting your balloon.

Biggest heel in the business now.

It's Kerber she should be worried about

Hard not to be cynical about Sharapova returning to a tournament that begins two days BEFORE her ban expires. Of course, that particular tournament happens to be sponsored by one of......Sharapova's sponsors.

Sharapova seemed fresh and exciting (not to mention easy on the eye) when she won Wimbledon in 2004.  The scales started to fall from my eyes with that ghastly Wimbledon SF in 2005 when she and Venus Williams disgraced themselves with the excessive screeching.  Despite being so obviously self-obsessed, greedy, and haughty as well as close to unwatchable because of the noise I was still able to give her grit grudging respect (I remember in particular some fantastic matches vs. Henin in 2006-2007 and the comeback to win a slam on clay seemed impressive).

As far as I am concerned now we have seen the 'grit' for what it is - an extension/product of her extreme selfishness and greed so that there's nothing left to offer to decent people - if she were in business she'd be Sir Philip Green.  Good on the likes of Radwanska and Wozniacki - they won't ever be as successful as Sharapova on Court or at bringing in the money, but they are x50 the human being Sharapova is.

Well it's certainly been quieter on the circuit since MS has been away. With Azarenka on maternity leave, there has been a further diminishing of screeching.
Interesting to see what will happen to Sharapova regarding the French and Wimbledon.

It is very bad form of WTA, ITF and Stuttgart (whoever is primarily responsible) to allow Sharapova to enter this tournament two days before her ban ends.  Don't even get me started on the wildcard!  It sends such a conflicted message.  Particularly dislike the inference from her team that tennis is somehow lesser without her.......I would rather see Radwanska anyway - she doesn't shriek and she plays tennis with far greater flair.

I know the drug she was taking was not on the banned list until recently.  However, if she had any courage or integrity at all, she would admit she took a legal performance enhancer and she was banned for negligence in continuing for a month or so when it was disallowed, instead of coming up with bogus health excuses.  That makes her both cowardly and mendacious imo.  

Having got that off my chest, I think everyone is entitled to a second chance, but I agree with Wozniacki, Sharapova should have had to work her way back through the rankings - she hasn't been out with injury, she was 'serving time'!

.......at least ITF taken the correct action with that prize pl*nker Nastase. I see he suggested that as a former No 1, escorting him from the Fed Cup and banning him will be bad for tennis......

In Mr Nasty's world celebrity means people should ignore your racism, misogyny and general aggression.......I don't know how we are going to be able to enjoy Wimbledon without him!

Rather commercial decision by Stuttgart.

Hardly the most popular player in the women's dressing room before all this, Sharapova must expect a frosty reception from practically everyone from now on.
She'll also find that everybody will be trying extra hard to beat her. Despite Sharapova's shrieking I've always been a fan. But she's been so graceless and disingenuous about this ban that she's forfeited all sympathy.

timex please wrote:
I know the drug she was taking was not on the banned list until recently.  However, if she had any courage or integrity at all, she would admit she took a legal performance enhancer and she was banned for negligence in continuing for a month or so when it was disallowed, instead of coming up with bogus health excuses.  That makes her both cowardly and mendacious imo.  

This x100 - and it is particularly, shall we say, 'ironic' that one of the many excuses proffered for taking what she clearly hoped was a legal performance enhancer was a history of diabetes in her family. This from the grasping b***ch who wanted to change her name to Sugarpova during the US Open to promote her line of sweets.

On the bright side. A good reason to watch the era for once
Amazing what a good villain can do for a sport

Sharapova plays her first match this evening (Wed). Interesting to see what sort of reception she gets. The new WTA website - a great improvement on the old one - coyly makes no reference to her ban, although it does refer to Nastase's antics at the Fed Cup.

Sharapova wins 7-5, 6-3......alas.

Bouchard speaks her mind
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39727651

Giving a drugs cheat wild cards into tournaments is ridiculous; Bouchard is spot on and it's the sense of entitlement that Sharapova has that must p*** off a lot of the players.

Yeah, I'm curious as to what other sports treat convicted drugs cheats in the same way (as asserted by the WTA). They are, of course, allowed to participate again but they aren't usually given a helping hand to do so. She should have to build from scratch which, from memory, was what Troicki had to do in similar (slightly more sympathetic) circumstances.

I'm a bit torn on this one - Yes Sharapova failed a drugs test and her excuses were clearly pathetic, but she has served her ban, so is allowed back into the sport*. She's clearly still a very good player and if forced to play through lesser tournaments would be back to a high ranking position in a few months anyway. As such, it kind of makes sense for her to be treated in a similar way to a 'protected rankings' player, and otherwise to be given wildcards for some events.

* I think the wildcard for Stuttgart was out of order, in that it came before the end of her banned period. Also, I think she was a very lucky woman to not get a much longer ban as I felt the mitigation given was pathetic, and at the very least the positive came from negligence.

As for the question of how other sports treat their returning competitors, in most cases they would be allowed straight back into the top level of competition (cycling is now an exception, in that riders returning from a doping ban cannot be employed by a ProTour team for a number of years), and it is only the one year ranking structure of tennis that means MaSha would have to qualify for tournaments.

If anyone needs a refresher on this topic, here is the old thread of 15 pages long when we discussed this

https://www.606v2.com/t62364p700-the-sharapova-drug-announcement

I'm a bit conflicted like Dummy Half - my views on Sharapova are clear from my above posts - but there is a difference between deciding that you dislike her and will not watch her &c&c, and how she is entitled to be treated as a member of the tour who has served her punishment.  I don't think my dislike for her (which is substantial) justifies condign punishment, nor do I think her marketability and success before the ban would justify her being treated as a special case by the WTA tour.  What I don't know is whether she is being treated differently or not - my suspicion is that she is not being treated as a particularly special case, that her past success and tournaments' scope for wildcards means that what is happening is not unusual.

However, what is clear from her progress at Stuttgart is that much of this is within her own hands anyway: she's up to #382 in the world with 100 points now, if she wins her next match she'll be #262 with 185 points, if she makes the final she'll be #182 with 305 points, and if she wins she'll be #118 with 470 points.  She may be able to force her way into the slams and other important tournaments on ranking v. soon, via qualifying for some if necessary.  I think she's in a hurry because she's interested in taking advantage of the Williams/Azarenka baby absences, Kerber's drop in form, and the fact that as x2 winner of Roland Garros the others look beatable for a 6th slam and 3rd RG triumph to milk a come-back narrative for its commercial potential with her many unquestioning fans. I'd almost like to see it because how the WTA would react would be entertaining.

barrystar wrote:I'd almost like to see it because how the WTA would react would be entertaining.

I think it would be (certainly should be) a difficult one for them herald.  It is a very different narrative to the one Fed gave the ATP.

Paula Radcliffe talking about how Sharapova has refused to accept any responsibility for her, can I call it "oversight" (putting charitable hat on!):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0519m5w

I think the word "cheat" (Bouchard, Radcliffe etc) is a little on the harsh side. I do think she got off lightly. I think if she had served 2 years+ and then come back a full week after the ban ended she might have been treated better but I think the feel is she got lucky with the length of the ban.

The media covering the tournament at Stuttgart more than it normally would is essentially complicit in rewarding Stuttgart for giving them more press coverage than they would have normally got, and we are also complicit in a way by following her results at a tournament that most of us would not normally pay any attention to.

Sharapova loses in the semi-final to Mladenovic 3-6 7-5 6-4.  According to the BBC radio she will now need a wildcard even to make Roland Garros qualifiers.  As someone returning from a drugs ban it would be extremely bad publicity for tennis as a sport to give her a wildcard.

Mladenovic you beauty! It's not so much the cheating with Sharapova. It's the arrogance and the disdain for her opponents. Let's hope RG and Wimbledon see sense and do not give her WCs.

sirfredperry wrote:Mladenovic you beauty! It's not so much the cheating with Sharapova. It's the arrogance and the disdain for her opponents. Let's hope RG and Wimbledon see sense and do not give her WCs.

Absolutely!  

Agree also with HB above in that the media frenzy is entirely complicit - it would be better if her return was given little fanfare.

It's not that I wish her ill, and I believe she should be allowed another chance - it's just that she is so unrepentant which seems to set such a bad example in that if you just front things out and you happen to be extremely photogenic and a sponsor's dream, you can basically do whatever you want with very few consequences.  Sharapova's ban has taught her nothing - it was just an inconvenience to her.  I think it would be difficult to change her, but the WTA and ITF should be very mindful of the message they are sending, and the implications for how tennis, as a fair sport, is viewed.

timex please wrote: I think it would be difficult to change her, but the WTA and ITF should be very mindful of the message they are sending, and the implications for how tennis, as a fair sport, is viewed.

This is the Business of Tennis vs the (moribund) Sport of Tennis. Being painted as Tennis's Bad Girl is one way of a sensational re-entry. This article reflects the larger macrocosm, and the discussions that ensue keep Sharapova in focus, good, bad or ugly. Disdain for her peers is not a newly acquired vice, it has been a habit for many a year.

I think she will get a Wildcard at both W and RG.

L-fan. Of the two Slams, the French is the one more likely to give her a WC. Wimbledon is such an attraction - players in white, green grass, tennis on the lawn - that the organisers don't need the publicity.
Some might recall the Wimbledon "boycott" year of 1973 when a row involving Niki Pilic led to nearly all the top players pulling out. The crowds were as big as ever, helped by good weather and the emergence of Bjorn Borg.
So I don't think Wimbledon are worrying about including Sharapova or not.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/39785177

"Loads and loads of press went there [Stutgart] to cover the event - whereas the Slams don't need that coverage," said Murray.

"It probably doesn't change their event much either way, so they have a different decision to make."

Good point from Murray.

Interesting to see that one of Sharapova's most outspoken critics within WTA circles has been Eugenie Bouchard.

She certainly doesn't sit on the fence, does young Genie .........


“I don’t think it’s right,” Bouchard said, when asked about Sharapova’s comeback. “She’s a cheater and I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again. It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true.

“I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids: ‘cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms’. I don’t think that’s right and she’s definitely not someone I can say I look up to anymore because it’s definitely ruined it for me a little bit.”

Those comments were made a little while ago - in Istanbul, I believe

But guess who Sharapova will be playing next in Madrid .........

Poor Genie!!! I think Sharapova will relish an opportunity to crush her. Hoping (against hope) it might be the other way around.

Come on Eugenie!!!
Whatever happens she's pushing Sharapova all the way. Fair play (in every sense) to the Canadian.

Well, well - let's see if Bouchard can go on from this win. She's been dire since showing such promise in 2014. Sometimes I wonder if being very pretty is a bit double-edged for a tennis player - the easy money on offer for modelling &c. may be a distraction from the bread and butter. Although, to be fair to Sharapova, it has never been a problem for her.

Bouchard - Sharapova 7-5 2-6 4-4

Well done Genie - how difficult it must be to find any composure with that banshee like shrieking from Sharapova, which sounded more aggressive than ever. Oh for the days of Steffi Graff - as Chrissie Evert once said 'she hit the ball a ton but she didn't make a noise'. Yes, I do realise I'm showing my age!!

Bouchard wins!   6-4 in the final set

two hours and 51 minutes. 7-5 2-6 6-4

barrystar the WTA has always been a mixture of fashion parade and eye candy. However, sometimes the tennis itself is what counts and Bouchard has struck a blow for all those who really support the sport itself rather than a money making machine like Sharapova.

Excellent result. Did so hope Sharapova would be beaten.

My god her screaming is unbearable nowadays
Either they're going to have to call her out for hindrance or she gets a threat problem.

It's completely unwatchable

Interesting that Bouchard said afterwards that players she normally never speaks to were coming up to her before the match wishing her luck. Got plenty of good-luck texts too, apparently.
Of course the official WTA website puttyfoots around it all, being very selective about the post-match Bouchard quotes that they use.
Well if there's one positive thing that could come out of all this, it is a return to form for Bouchard who has not seemed the same player since that annihilation in the Wimbledon final by a - hopefully-soon-to-return - Kvitova.

Rarely watch womens tennis but very happy to see Bouchard beating the cheat, she comes across as a thoroughly unlikeable person as well.

What the Sharapova case proved was that Sharapova and her team were prepared to break the spirit of the game if not the actual rules when she used a powerful new drug to gain a competitive advantage, that was not on the banned list.  It was only because this drug was turning up again and again in ever increasing numbers amongst swimmers and other elite athletes that WADA investigated and later banned it.  It was only hubris in Sharapova's case or her teams case that caused her to not bother checking or overlooking the latest WADA updates regarding banned drugs.  She had been using the drug from an early age after she had won grand slams at junior level which showed she had the potential to make it in the adult game. On court she also shows us she is prepared to blow out our ear drums in order to gain what she imagines is a competitive advantage.

No name Bertie wrote:What the Sharapova case proved was that Sharapova and her team were prepared to break the spirit of the game if not the actual rules when she used a powerful new drug to gain a competitive advantage, that was not on the banned list.  It was only because this drug was turning up again and again in ever increasing numbers amongst swimmers and other elite athletes that WADA investigated and later banned it.  It was only hubris in Sharapova's case or her teams case that caused her to not bother checking or overlooking the latest WADA updates regarding banned drugs.  She had been using the drug from an early age after she had won grand slams at junior level which showed she had the potential to make it in the adult game.  On court she also shows us she is prepared to blow out our ear drums in order to gain what she imagines is a competitive advantage.

Yup - that's what I've been saying ad nauseam.  You only forgot to mention another hobby horse of mine, that one of her explanations for taking this drug was diabetes in the family - straight from the mouth of the proprietor of Sugarpova sweets who wanted to change her name to Sugarpova for the US Open to promote them.

Message to WTA - she is not an asset if you are interested in more than the very short term.

sirfredperry wrote:Interesting that Bouchard said afterwards that players she normally never speaks to were coming up to her before the match wishing her luck. Got plenty of good-luck texts too, apparently.
  Of course the official WTA website puttyfoots around it all, being very selective about the post-match Bouchard quotes that they use.
  Well if there's one positive thing that could come out of all this, it is a return to form for Bouchard who has not seemed the same player since that annihilation in the Wimbledon final by a - hopefully-soon-to-return - Kvitova.

Yes I think that the stance taken by Bouchard is an admirable one that has revealed just how unpopular the Russian has become. Perhaps the time has come for her to "take her own medicine" and do things the hard way. If she were to have to play the qualifying to get into her next slam and went on to get into the main draw I don't think she'll get undue criticism for that. If, though, she gets into the main draw at either Roland Garros or Wimbledon on a wild card then tennis will need to take along hard look at itself and its values.

Well the latest news, according to the BBC, is that Sharapova will be offered a wildcard into Birmingham next month. Nothing officially announced, though.
Birmingham clashes with Queens and you can understand the Midlands event wanting some publicity. But COME ON. Is there nobody in the women's game's hierarchy who is going to stand up and say: "Hey. What sort of a message are we sending out here?" Sometimes one despairs.

Integrity isn't worth any money. That's the problem She's literally a cash cow

Bouchard wins again, do we think her form has been helped by her "feud" with Sharapova?

ChequeredJersey wrote:Bouchard wins again, do we think her form has been helped by her "feud" with Sharapova?

I think so. She appeared when Laura Robson was in the ascendency - and it seemed like both would be top ten players. Robson broke into the top thirty then started to fade with claims she lacked fitness, was difficult to work with and at the same time was having concerns with her wrist. Bouchard surpassed her and became a top ten player. Robson disappeared with a serious wrist injury, and Bouchard seem to fade and disappear a little later. Then came Bouchard brain injury following a slip in the changing rooms at the US Open - followed by slow recovery.

Interesting to compare the three of them. Whilst I'm no Sharapova fan it is hard to overlook her hard work in making the most of her game. I don't think she's the greatest mover and her serve was hampered by shoulder injuries but her sheer battling qualities have won her many a match.
You just wonder how long the fire can keep burning to see her win any more slams and time isn't on her side.

Robson, on the other hand, hasn't faired so well with injuries. Her game just hasn't developed and the power that used to overcome opponents seems to have lost its intensity. Time and again it's been obvious that her movement just isn't good enough but countless coaches have come and gone and nothing has changed. It's hard to see her ever returning to her initial form and promise but, then again , miracles do happen. She's going to have to work harder than it seems she's willing to do so at the moment though.

Bouchard seems a player revitalised by wanting to get one over on Sharapova. Perhaps the modelling and photoshoots will be put to one side long enough for her to be a slam contender once more. She has the game and seemingly the desire once again to compete at the highest level. So of the three of them she would be my bet to do something over the coming year or so.

Latest: Sharapova has been DENIED a wildcard into the French. At last some common sense in what has been an appalling time for tennis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c

temporary21 wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c

Marvellous!