She may never be accepted as Aussie Maria -- not like Aussie Kim and Aussie Ana -- but there was no denying Friday that Maria Sharapova was a worthy winner of her third grand-slam tournament final and that, though their reaction might have been lukewarm, Australia can say that it bore witness to a significant shift in the women’s game.

Forget the fact that Ana Ivanovic becomes the world No.2 on Monday - the ranking system on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour continues to live in a world of its own - it is Sharapova, having picked up the Australian Open title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the Serbian on Rod Laver Arena yesterday who is the second best player in the game today. Soon, she may well be the best.
Her annihilation of Justine Henin, the current No.1 in the quarter finals here was a powerful argument message of renewed intent, one honed during the period last year when she struggled to come to terms with her own physical frailties and the death of the mother of Michael Joyce, her American coach, which gave her a different sense of the meaning of life.
There is little sense from the way she attacks tennis - there is never any holding back where Sharapova is concerned - that she enjoys every minute of what she does. There is a grim-faced, square-jawed businesslike manner about Sharapova that not so much offends as gets people on edge. Factor in the antics of Yuri, her father, and it is not so much of a surprise that even the Australians, who like a rough-hewn edge to their sport, are somewhat discomfited.
The applause that greeted Sharapova’s victory over Ivanovic, who has an uncle who lives in the Melbourne suburbs and is thus open for citizenship whenever she wants it, was muted to say the least. Of maybe it was more that the final itself was not of the highest quality - when have we said that before? - and that too many errors and missed opportunities created a stilted match of little sustained excitement.
Credit Sharapova that she stood tall, not dropping a set throughout the championships and that from here she heads to Israel for the first time to represent Russia in the Fed Cup women’s team event. There, one suspects, she will have a rapturous welcome. Whether anyone likes it or not, Sharapova is a wonderful talent who is only going to grow.
(The Times) -