How Worrisome Is Maria Sharapova’s Rocky Start with New Coach Jimmy Connors?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 15, 2013

commentComment        

Maria Sharapova raised a lot of eyebrows when she brought Jimmy Connors on as her coach earlier this summer.

Tuesday, on their team debut, she raised a lot of doubts after being upset by Sloane Stephens 2‑6, 7‑6, 6‑3 in the second round of the Western and Southern Open.

That was certainly not the start the dynamic duo was hoping for.

After her shocking second-round loss at Wimbledon, Sharapova announced that she was parting ways with her long-time coach Thomas Hogstedt and adding the eight-time Grand Slam Champion Connors to her camp.



The opinions of the tennis community were pretty much split right down the middle as to whether this was a disastrous clash of two egos, or the next Andy Murray-Ivan Lendl masterpiece.

The doubters certainly had ground to stand on. Connors hadn't been in the coaching business since he split with Andy Roddick in 2008, and, besides his engagement to Chrissie Evert during his playing days, he never had any strong ties to women's tennis.

Optimists, however, thought that this pairing might be just the spark that Sharapova needed to finally topple her biggest rival, Serena Williams.

But in order to try her luck against the likes of Serena, Sharapova has to find a way to get past players like Stephens first.



A little rust was expected of Sharapova in her Cincinnati debut, since she was playing her first match post-Wimbledon after taking time off to heal her hip. But when she raced out to a 6-2, 2-0 lead over No. 17 Stephens, most pencilled her into the next round.

Then she went off the rails. Sharapova racked up 16 winners and 62 unforced errors in the three-set shank-fest. She simply couldn't keep a ball in play, and looked like a drastically different player from the steadier Sharapova that spectators have become accustomed to.

Tennis Magazine writer Pete Bodo thinks that th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!