Female Beauty

Maria Sharapova, at 19 the world’s highest paid female athlete and U.S Open 2006 Champion, has defeated #22 Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to win her 4th title of the year after Indian Wells, San Diego, and the US Open. With her new win on Sunday, her 14th, she became the first Russian to win the Zurich Open after she finished as runner-up to Alicia Molik in 2004.
Born in Nyagan, Siberia, the former World No. 1 professional tennis player is the marketing engine behind mobile phones, wristwatches, cameras, handbags and jewelry, automobiles, perfumes, tennis racquets, shoes, and clothing for 9 different companies, raking in more than $20 million last year. She was voted by Maxim magazine as the Hottest Female Athlete in The World for the year 2006.

Hantuchova was pressured early by Sharapova, who was very aggressive in the opening set. Hantuchova held off three break points in the first game and then dropped her serve to love, hitting consecutive double-faults, to fall behind 2-1.
In the 2nd set Hantuchova took an early break and after a very long game where Sharapova could level the set, Hantuchova held her game and took the set 6-4. The 3rd set saw Maria break Hantuchova in the 4th game to lead 3-1, proving enough to take the title as all the remaining games were held on serve.  Despite the defeat, Hantuchova’s rank is expected to rise from #22 to #16.

Sharapova, who withdrew from the recent Kremlin Cup with a foot injury, said she was playing through pain in Zurich. 
“This is a  wonderful tournament. All the players are treated first-class here, and it’s one of the most popular stops on the tour. After my first Grand Slam title (Wimbledon 2004) I lost my way a bit, so to win a Tier 1 event so soon after the US Open is very satisfying.” said Sharapova after the tournament. In the race for World No. 1, Maria moves up to #2, still 370 points behind Henin-Hardenne.
“Becoming No. 1 is a huge achievement, but I don’t personally think ending the season as No. 1 is a huge deal. I honestly can’t remember who finished last year No. 1. You remember who won the Grand Slams and who has been No. 1, not who finished the year No. 1.” said Sharapova, who was top-ranked in August 2005.

 Top 3 Female U.S. Open champion ranking:
1. Justine Henin-Hardenne
2. Amelie Mauresmo
3. Maria Sharapova with 3337 points

Sharapova still has a chance to finish the year as the top-ranked player. She’d need to win next week in Linz, Austria, and at the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid. Amelie Mauresmo, who withdrew from the Zurich Open with a shoulder injury, and second-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne, who hasn’t played since mid-September because of a knee problem, still lead the U.S. Open champion in the rankings. Mauresmo leads Sharapova by 630 points, but many of the Frenchwomen’s points will expire before this season ends. Henin-Hardenne would have to fail to reach the WTA final for Sharapova to finish on top. Neither Henin-Hardenne nor Mauresmo are expected to play before Madrid.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 at 11:47 pm and is filed under Tennis, Women in Sports, Career. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.