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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/tennis/sfl-nasscene30mar30,0,7776045.story?coll=sfla-sports-tennis
Getting pop on her shots
Yuri Sharapov is annoyed. "Your toss is too low," he tells his daughter, Maria Sharapova, as she smacks a serve.
Sharapova is playing practice games with her hitting partner, former journeyman pro Michael Joyce. Every few minutes her father stops the action to correct her mechanics. He doesn't like the contact point on some of her groundstrokes, and he's not crazy about her second serve, either.
Sharapov's tone, in clear English, is firm but reasonable. This is not the raging, fist-thrusting Yuri we see on TV at Sharapova's matches. He even smiles a couple of times.
When Sharapova thinks the session has ended, he instructs her to hit five more second serves. You have to be able to hit those when you're tired, he tells her.
Sharapova reacts with a poker face and a quick nod. She doesn't appear bothered by anything her father is saying. At least on the practice court, she comes off as a good-humored 18-year-old relatively unaffected by her status as a tennis megastar and global brand.
During practice games with Joyce, she chuckles over a disputed shot she called out. "I'm going to get grief for this for two months," she says.
She teases Joyce, who at 33 is no longer in top shape, when he appears winded after a long point. "You need a Gatorade?" she says with a laugh.
Getting pop on her shots
Yuri Sharapov is annoyed. "Your toss is too low," he tells his daughter, Maria Sharapova, as she smacks a serve.
Sharapova is playing practice games with her hitting partner, former journeyman pro Michael Joyce. Every few minutes her father stops the action to correct her mechanics. He doesn't like the contact point on some of her groundstrokes, and he's not crazy about her second serve, either.
Sharapov's tone, in clear English, is firm but reasonable. This is not the raging, fist-thrusting Yuri we see on TV at Sharapova's matches. He even smiles a couple of times.
When Sharapova thinks the session has ended, he instructs her to hit five more second serves. You have to be able to hit those when you're tired, he tells her.
Sharapova reacts with a poker face and a quick nod. She doesn't appear bothered by anything her father is saying. At least on the practice court, she comes off as a good-humored 18-year-old relatively unaffected by her status as a tennis megastar and global brand.
During practice games with Joyce, she chuckles over a disputed shot she called out. "I'm going to get grief for this for two months," she says.
She teases Joyce, who at 33 is no longer in top shape, when he appears winded after a long point. "You need a Gatorade?" she says with a laugh.
Yuri sounds like a good coach
