Sharapova spurred by 'grunting' crowd
Monday, 4 February 2008
REUTERS
Maria Sharapova responds to the crowd's imitations of her grunts during her Fed Cup win yesterday
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At 75 decibels it is louder than a power drill, and opponents have occasionally been forced to complain about Maria Sharapova's grunting, but so far in her career spectators have appeared to accept that it is an inevitable part of her game. Until now.
The Russian was in the process of levelling scores at 1-1 lead in their Fed Cup tie against Israel on Saturday with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Tzipi Obziler when the already boisterous crowd decided to fight back, imitating Sharapova's grunts each time she hit the ball. Although they were eventually told to keep quiet by the umpire, Sharapova professed herself to be comfortable with it.
"I don't mind it," she said. "It brings out the best in me. I love the atmosphere, the crowd and their craziness. It is what we live for. I got really anxious and excited as I was close to finishing my first Fed Cup match."
Sharapova then beat Israeli No 1 Shahar Peer 6-1 6-1 yesterday, putting Russia 2-1 ahead. Peer had no answer to the Australian Open champion's powerful groundstrokes and Sharapova broke Peer six times to win in an hour and 14 minutes. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia's world No 7, secured the tie after seeing off a brave challenge from Israel's Obziler 6-4 6-2, while Dinara Safina and Elena Vesnina completed the 4-1 victory by beating Peer and Obziler in the dead doubles rubber 6-0 1-6 6-4. Chakvetadze came back from 3-0 down in the first set and shut out chanting from a hostile home crowd,
"I started off slowly but then I managed to get into the match," said Chakvetadze, who was critical of the crowd. "I think they [the crowd] should be a little more respectful ... all we ask is that they are a little more quiet during the points."
Elsewhere, Great Britain's Fed Cup captain, Nigel Sears, said that he was relieved after the 2-0 defeat of Portugal secured their Euro/Africa Zone Group One status.
The GB team had to win to avoid relegation to Group Two and began strongly as Anne Keothavong earned a 6-1 7-6 (7-1) victory over Ana-Caterina Nogueira in the first match in Budapest. The British No 1, Katie O'Brien, then ensured Britain avoided relegation after she defeated Magali De Lattre 6-4 6-2.
"We needed to survive as going down to Group Two would have been a disaster," Sears said. "I feel encouraged that the players have improved and I will expect things to accelerate next year."
