From The Sydney Morning Herald: Sharapova fights back from the brink
Top seed Maria Sharapova has narrowly averted a shock first round defeat to little known Frenchwoman Camille Pin at the Australian Open.
In a marathon match played in soaring temperatures at Melbourne Park, the Russian beauty overcame heat exhaustion to win 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 in two hours and 51 minutes...
Sharapova was troubled by stomach cramps as she battled to stay hydrated in uncomfortable heat. She took a break break after losing the second set and was treated by her trainer for heat exhaustion during the third set.
She really dug in. I was so impressed. I'm not normally Maria's fan, but I think I might have become a bit of one in that 3rd set.
Posted by: Sher | January 16, 2007 at 01:01 AM
They closed the roof after Maria's match, before Rafa went on. My question is why didn't they close it between sets during Maria's match if it was so hot out there.
Posted by: Stellcat | January 16, 2007 at 02:07 AM
They won't because it takes 15 minutes to close, so they have a rule about closing it only between matches. Stupid, really! One day, when a player is seriously ill due to this rule, it will have to change. They will delay for hours due to rain, but perish the thought of delaying a few minutes for the safety of the players.
Posted by: Lisa | January 16, 2007 at 02:22 AM
Late in the 3rd set there was a let called because the ball came out of Pin's skirt during play and Sharapova had some "choice" words to the umpire that were clearly heard on tv. I wonder what will happen...
Posted by: | January 16, 2007 at 06:31 AM
Every player knows that the conditions at the AO are brutal. They were that way long better a roof was available. They've got to be ready physically to play in those conditions. It would not have been fair to close the roof during a match when one player is better conditioned than another to play in those conditions. My two cents...
Posted by: Spuddog | January 16, 2007 at 04:32 PM
I respectfully disagree, Spuddog. I don't think "fair" is necessarily the pertinent issue when we're talking about 118 degree temperatures. Watching Pin and Sharpova suffer out there, whether one player was in better shape or not, brought to people's attention (like WTA officials) that athletes' health and well-being are in danger in those kinds of conditions. Clearly, if they wouldn't begin any other matches yet this one was allowed to go on for three hours, there is inconsistency in the rule, which is supposedly there to protect players.
Besides, when the temp gets that high, success or failure is not necesarily a question of physical conditioning. A lot of factors come into play that the athletes can't control, on or off the court. There's my two cents in the pot.
Posted by: elisa | January 19, 2007 at 08:54 PM