Watching yesterday's highlights of the Venus Williams versus Maria Sharapova Ladies Singles QF match at Wimbledon 2007, I realized more than ever that I just don't like watching Sharapova play tennis. I think she's a tough competitor and all with great mental strength, the ability to come back from behind and play well in the clutch, take her game to the next level when the chips are down, blah.. blah.. blah.. No really - I do think all those things about her.
But her guttural screaming for every play (regardless of the effort level) is just too "off-putting" for me. And if as a TV viewer it can be so distracting - I can't even imagine how her opponents feel. Even if I hit the Mute button to tune her and the accompanying commentary out, her playing style is also not very entertaining really. She doesn't really cover the court well and pretty much gets to the ball and hits it -hard. If she's in trouble, she digs deep into herself, focuses - and just hits harder. She's a champion for sure - and she wins games. But she's definitely not a looker when she's playing.
By contrast, Venus' playing style is so much more pleasing to watch. She's fast, agile and covers the court extremely well. Her movements are fluid and her long limbs allow her to reach for balls most players would let go. She also relies on the angles and slices as much as she does on raw power. Most importantly, Venus doesn't grunt anywhere close to the decibel levels of Sharapova. All that makes it fun to watch Venus play.
Both players do have one similarity however - they're both tough competitors and are potential greats in the making. In most cases, when great players play one another, I usually don't care too much who wins as long as the match was entertaining. In this case though, sadly, prejudiced ol' me preferred Venus over Maria. The result, needless to say, made me happy.
