In America, a 6-0 scoreline is a bagel. In France, it is une roue de bicyclette - or bicycle wheel.
Whatever you call it, this is not the way to start a grand slam quarter-final. But the great thing about clay-court tennis, as Maria Sharapova might reflect after her 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Jelena Jankovic, is that the surface is wiped clean after every set.
What was the problem with Sharapova? She can hardly be accused of getting out of bed on the wrong side, for her match was scheduled for 2pm.
You would have to point to the flawless tennis being played by her Jankovic and the fact that her own screamers - for want of a better word - kept landing a couple of inches outside the line.
Yet while Sharapova can claim to be the No1 pin-up in global sport, she has never been bothered about looking, sounding or winning pretty. Where a less ferocious competitor would have shrivelled, feeling the pressure of the 15,000 spectators and that embarrassing zero against her name, she performed a mental reboot and broke serve in the next game. "I wanted to put that behind me," Sharapova said, when asked about the dramatic turnaround. "No matter how many errors I made or how disappointed I was with the way I started, I knew I still could create chances." Although the contest remained tight, Sharapova was able to make that three- or four-inch adjustment and start landing her low, scudding groundstrokes inside the lines.
It was enough to earn her a semi-final today (Thursday) against Victoria Azarenka, who was too solid for Maria Kirilenko on Court Suzanne Lenglen, coming through by a 7-6, 6-2 margin. While men's tennis has its 'big four', three women are moving clear of the field: Sharapova, Azarenka and Serena Williams, who have wrapped up the last five grand slams between them. We can now predict, with some confidence, that this French Open will make a sixth.
For all Sharapova's resilience, Williams - who was described in the French press this week as l'ogresse - remains the most intimidating figure in the women's draw. And it could be Williams who benefits if her two leading rivals play each other to a standstill today.
Whatever you call it, this is not the way to start a grand slam quarter-final. But the great thing about clay-court tennis, as Maria Sharapova might reflect after her 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Jelena Jankovic, is that the surface is wiped clean after every set.
What was the problem with Sharapova? She can hardly be accused of getting out of bed on the wrong side, for her match was scheduled for 2pm.
You would have to point to the flawless tennis being played by her Jankovic and the fact that her own screamers - for want of a better word - kept landing a couple of inches outside the line.
Yet while Sharapova can claim to be the No1 pin-up in global sport, she has never been bothered about looking, sounding or winning pretty. Where a less ferocious competitor would have shrivelled, feeling the pressure of the 15,000 spectators and that embarrassing zero against her name, she performed a mental reboot and broke serve in the next game. "I wanted to put that behind me," Sharapova said, when asked about the dramatic turnaround. "No matter how many errors I made or how disappointed I was with the way I started, I knew I still could create chances." Although the contest remained tight, Sharapova was able to make that three- or four-inch adjustment and start landing her low, scudding groundstrokes inside the lines.
It was enough to earn her a semi-final today (Thursday) against Victoria Azarenka, who was too solid for Maria Kirilenko on Court Suzanne Lenglen, coming through by a 7-6, 6-2 margin. While men's tennis has its 'big four', three women are moving clear of the field: Sharapova, Azarenka and Serena Williams, who have wrapped up the last five grand slams between them. We can now predict, with some confidence, that this French Open will make a sixth.
For all Sharapova's resilience, Williams - who was described in the French press this week as l'ogresse - remains the most intimidating figure in the women's draw. And it could be Williams who benefits if her two leading rivals play each other to a standstill today.
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