TENNIS/Australian Open:This was Maria Sharapova like nobody had ever quite seen her before. "The best I have ever seen Maria play," was how the former US Open champion Tracy Austin judged it, and the 15,000 crowd in the Rod Laver arena rose instinctively to their feet after the US-based Russian had defeated the world number one Justine Henin in straight sets at the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday.
Not that this was in the least a one-sided quarter-final. Henin pushed herself to the limits, but no matter what she tried and how she tried, Sharapova came up with something that little bit better, and sometimes spectacularly superior.
On this form, and with this variety, surely nobody can prevent one of the most marketable athletes in women's sport from winning her first Australian Open title, and her third slam in total.
Last year Serena Williams powered Sharapova into submission in the final, but earlier in the day Serbia's Jelena Jankovic had knocked out a strangely subdued Williams 6-3, 6-4 and that semi-final obstacle was removed.
What was so impressive about Sharapova's 6-4, 6-0 victory was the way she imposed herself against an opponent looking for her 33rd consecutive win, and the way she mixed up her game so beautifully. The power has always been there, though too often there has been an element of the automaton about her play.
Henin had won six of their previous eight meetings, essentially because she could cope with the raking forehands and backhands, while outwitting her much taller opponent with a heady mixture of slice and angle.
Not this time. Sharapova imposed herself from the first point, and served superbly well, whether it was wide or jammed into Henin's body.
For most of last year Sharapova struggled with an injured shoulder, and she only rediscovered her true self at the end-of-season women's championships final in Madrid, which Henin won 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in a match lasting three hours and 25 minutes.
Henin wore protection around her right knee that had been troubling her during the first week, but she was quick not to blame it.
"I have no excuse," she said. "She played a very high level of tennis, and put me under a tremendous amount of pressure. It was her day, and it will probably be her tournament."
There were some astonishing rallies, with Henin hurtling around the court, and making Sharapova play the extra shot that can sometimes be her undoing. On this occasion, however, she was remarkably consistent, executing several deft drop shots, as well as hitting sliced backhands of remarkable touch.
The only glitch came at 5-3 in the first set when she dropped her serve, but she immediately broke back, with her father, Yuri Sharapov, on his feet when his daughter won an 18-stroke rally. He is still wearing his "assassin's" camouflaged hoodie and at the end of the match drew his finger across his throat. Not a man of much charm.
Sharapova was in almost total control during the second set and, as well as Jankovic played against Williams, it is difficult to imagine her withstanding Sharapova in this form. The two were at Nick Bollettieri's academy in Bradenton together, Sharapova remembering them rushing to the computer room after they had practised and setting up email addresses. Since they turned professional they have played four times, Sharapova winning three, all on hard courts.
Jankovic's win over Williams was one of her best ever, though whether she can recover in time for the meeting with Sharapova tomorrow seems doubtful.
Melbourne results
Men's Singles
Quarter-finals: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt (14) Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) 7-5 6-0 7-6 (8-6), (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) bt (24) Jarkko Nieminen (Fin) 7-5 6-3 6-1
Women's Singles
Quarter-finals: (5) Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt (1) Justine Henin (Bel) 6-4 6-0, (3) Jelena Jankovic (Ser) bt (7) Serena Williams (USA) 6-3 6-4.
Women's Doubles
Quarter-finals: Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) bt (1) Cara Black (Zim) and Liezel Huber (USA) 6-3 6-2, (12) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) and Shahar Peer (Isr) bt (13) Janette Husarova (Svk) and Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 6-1 6-1, (7) Zi Yan and Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Serena Williams and Venus Williams (USA) 3-6 6-4 6-2.
Men's Doubles
Quarter-finals: Jeff Coetzee (Rsa) and Wesley Moodie (Rsa) bt (4) Martin Damm (Cze) and Pavel Vizner (Cze) 7-5 5-7 6-4, (7) Arnaud Clement (Fra) and Michael Llodra (Fra) bt (2) Daniel Nestor (Can) and Nenad Zimonjic (Ser) 6-4 6-4.
