Sharapova: if I was built like Serena think I'd hit a big serve too

S

sportsfan1

Legend
"I think if I was built like Serena I hope I'd be able to hit a big serve like that, too"

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/06/sharapova-serena-serves-faster-ferrer/47861/#.UbSa4MrDv84.

Huh? In that case I should be serving way better than those kids at Bolletieri academy ;-).
What's her coach telling her: It's not hard work and technique, but build.
Someone who's 6'2 should have an advantage serving. Federer, Ivanisevic hit better serves than many others with better builds. And Lisicki, Goerges, all hit big serves: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/1978722/title/ids-serve-speed-leaders. Heck, even Ana Ivanovic is in that list.

According to this article, Pova and williams hit similar speed first serves but Pova hits a harder/flatter but less effective second serve:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs...-*************-could-prove-her-205044713.html
 
J

johndagolfer

Professional
Don't think it has to do with muscles. Look how much smoother and fluid Serena's serve is than Maria's. One serve you see Maria never consistently hit well is the slice out wide or the kicker to the backhand. She just doesn't have good enough of a motion to create those serves consistently.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
...said the player with an upper body like a thin male, with broad shoulders.

She's looking for any excuse why her *** is always handed to her. Funny how she did not say anything of the sort that after her lone Wimbledon title.
 
A

Amelie Mauresmo

Banned
Sharapova is six foot three and she has shoulders wider than a NFL linebacker for Sharapova to talk about Serena's shoulders and body in such a disparaging manner just shows how frustrated and jealous she is.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
In the history of sport I don't think there's any female player is as strong as Serena, who's built like a wrestler. However, her physique is better for a tennis player than Maria who's more suited for being a model.
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
surprisingly, Serena's greatest opponent was Justine Henin who was really small compared to the average WTA player.
 
A

ashitaka2010

Semi-Pro
Learn how to kick your second serve for a start and then how to slide on clay and how to drop shot and... oh well... takes to much time.
 
A

Amelie Mauresmo

Banned
Justine Henin has a better serve than Sharapova and she's only five foot five. Henin is also SMARTER than Sharapova she knew against Serena you've got use a lot of slice, angles, drop shots, attack the net, mix it up.

Sharapova loses to Serena because she has a very one dimensional game. She just hits harder and harder, but Serena loves pace so her game plan is usually ineffective.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
Maria's true personality emerges. How shameful to criticize another woman's body.

Of course it's absurd for someone of her height and build to imply that it is physical stature that makes her the lesser player.

She should be ashamed of herself. May she never beat Serena again.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Amelie Mauresmo said:
Justine Henin has a better serve than Sharapova and she's only five foot five. Henin is also SMARTER than Sharapova she knew against Serena you've got use a lot of slice, angles, drop shots, attack the net, mix it up.

Sharapova loses to Serena because she has a very one dimensional game. She just hits harder and harder, but Serena loves pace so her game plan is usually ineffective.
Click to expand...

Sharapova is too tall for a tennis player. She's an equivalent to Isner who also suffered from terrible movement. Despite being undersized, Henin is a lot more talented than Sharapova. Both players are not the ideal size for a tennis player like Graf but Henin was simply more gifted.
 
N

NadalDramaQueen

Guest
Sharapova must have forgotten that she is a fricken giant.
 
S

Say Chi Sin Lo

G.O.A.T.
Man, I can't wait for her to play Schiavone and lose, then say:

"If I was built like Schiavone, I think I'd hit a nasty slice, drop shot, and hit nice volleys too."
 
D

Defcon

Hall of Fame
Henin served better and faster than Maria, and in fact most of the women. She was a real example of pure talent and hard work overcoming her size - if she'd been maybe an inch taller, she'd have won about 5-6 more slams easily.
 
v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
Amelie Mauresmo said:
Justine Henin has a better serve than Sharapova and she's only five foot five. Henin is also SMARTER than Sharapova she knew against Serena you've got use a lot of slice, angles, drop shots, attack the net, mix it up.

Sharapova loses to Serena because she has a very one dimensional game. She just hits harder and harder, but Serena loves pace so her game plan is usually ineffective.
Click to expand...

This is so true!!!

Is Maria and her coach (well maybe not his fault if Maria is stubborn) so stupid as to not research Serena's weaknesses?

Maria's height and reach can be used to great advantage and she can improve her movement.

The more I read about the Maria/Serena clashes the less I respect Maria and her team
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
Defcon said:
Henin served better and faster than Maria, and in fact most of the women. She was a real example of pure talent and hard work overcoming her size - if she'd been maybe an inch taller, she'd have won about 5-6 more slams easily.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I've been saying all along. Henin is one of the most gifted/talented player of all time. Her setback is being overpowered by the bigger/stronger player. On slower court she's the best, but on fast court like grass she suffered.
 
A

Amelie Mauresmo

Banned
Soianka said:
Maria's true personality emerges. How shameful to criticize another woman's body.

Of course it's absurd for someone of her height and build to imply that it is physical stature that makes her the lesser player.

She should be ashamed of herself. May she never beat Serena again.
Click to expand...

Exactly, Serena is only 5'9 but her technique on her serve is so much better than Sharapova. Sharapova is a giant she's not even six foot two she's actually taller than that. I hear Sharapova is 6'3 she's a very tall woman she should be using her serve as a weapon. Sharapova also has huge shoulders so for her to mock Serena's body is a joke.
 
DRII

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Obviously Sharapova's shoulder injuries and then surgery has hampered her serve, but harping on Serena's physique is rather pointless...

as an aside, I suggest Serena not try to go for mega huge serves and beat Venus' record. She places it well enough that she doesn't have to against the current field. She also hurt her back trying to do so in Australia this year...
 
S

Say Chi Sin Lo

G.O.A.T.
DRII said:
Obviously Sharapova's shoulder injuries and then surgery has hampered her serve, but harping on Serena's physique is rather pointless...

as an aside, I suggest Serena not try to go for mega huge serves and beat Venus' record. She places it well enough that she doesn't have to against the current field. She also hurt her back trying to do so in Australia this year...
Click to expand...

It's the other way around. It's Sharapova's lack of form and technique on her serve and that stupid looking forehand that hampered her shoulder, which in turn, hampered her serve even more.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Amelie Mauresmo said:
Justine Henin has a better serve than Sharapova and she's only five foot five. Henin is also SMARTER than Sharapova she knew against Serena you've got use a lot of slice, angles, drop shots, attack the net, mix it up.
Click to expand...

Henin was smarter than Sharapova, and it was also a matter of talent which made her a better player than Sharapova, not hollow non-factors such as height, etc.

Sharapova loses to Serena because she has a very one dimensional game. She just hits harder and harder, but Serena loves pace so her game plan is usually ineffective.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Regarding the absurd, ****poor excuse that Sharapova (6 ft 2 in) is "too tall for a tennis player," that nonsense flies in the face of players almost as tall such as Venus (6 ft 1) or taller like Davenport (6 ft 2 1⁄2)--both majors winners.
 
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A

Amelie Mauresmo

Banned
Serena Williams is all women, a lot straight men say she's blessed with large breasts and a big butt. Serena also has curves, she's not a six foot three bean pole like Sharapova.
 
Devilito

Devilito

Hall of Fame
Tennis is a very physical sport and it's not Serena's fault that other women haven't taken their fitness as seriously as she has. Nothing is stopping the other women from working out and building more muscle and strength to be able to compete at a higher level. Almost all the male players have a fitness routine that includes strength training. I bet most of the women do not. Serena obviously does and it benefits her by being able to blow other women off the court. If Sharapova put on an extra 10lbs of lean muscle mass she might be able to compete on a more equal level to Serena. Some women players look like downright couch potato's and it's not a "female hormonal" thing because if you look at female gymnasts they are very fit. You don't see "pudgy" female gymnast. Maybe Sugarpova should hit the weights and worry more about her tennis career than her modeling career

as for the serve, Serena's technique is miles better than Sugarpova's
 
DRII

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Amelie Mauresmo said:
Serena Williams is all women, a lot straight men say she's blessed with large breasts and a big butt. Serena also has curves, she's not a six foot three bean pole like Sharapova.
Click to expand...

and bulging biceps, chisled big shoulders, mega hands, and at one point a very square jaw :confused:

although she does look more feminine nowadays...
 
namelessone

namelessone

Legend
Sharapova should learn how to serve first before talking about another player. She, like so many in the WTA, has this weird doublefaulting habit and even though Sharapova is a giant, her serve is average at best. I know she has shoulder issues but still.

It's true that Serena has bigger muscles than her(on the WTA tour only Stosur or maybe Schiavone could match her build) but she isn't beating Maria with pure strength, Serena can actually put a little variety into her game every once in a while. Not a lot, but certainly more than Sharapova. If tennis is all about muscle, then why aren't schiavone or stosur dominating along with Serena?

Sharapova has 2 modes: hit hard or when ****ed off or at a tight point in the match, HIT HARDER. Her volleying skills are meh, her dropshots pretty much suck and I don't think she returns all that well tbh.

She does two things very well: hit the ball hard on both sides and scream her lungs off.

It may work against most chokeartists in the WTA but Serena is made of sterner stuff, hence her owning of Sharapova since times imemorial.
 
DRII

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Devilito said:
Tennis is a very physical sport and it's not Serena's fault that other women haven't taken their fitness as seriously as she has. Nothing is stopping the other women from working out and building more muscle and strength to be able to compete at a higher level. Almost all the male players have a fitness routine that includes strength training. I bet most of the women do not. Serena obviously does and it benefits her by being able to blow other women off the court. If Sharapova put on an extra 10lbs of lean muscle mass she might be able to compete on a more equal level to Serena. Some women players look like downright couch potato's and it's not a "female hormonal" thing because if you look at female gymnasts they are very fit. You don't see "pudgy" female gymnast. Maybe Sugarpova should hit the weights and worry more about her tennis career than her modeling career

as for the serve, Serena's technique is miles better than Sugarpova's
Click to expand...



Sharapova makes way more money off of her modeling and appearances/endorsements than in tennis winnings (and more than any other female athlete)...

and no matter how much some women workout, they would never become as 'built' as Serena or even Stossur for that matter, a significant part of those physiques is unique genetics!
 
Dedans Penthouse

Dedans Penthouse

Legend
Amelie Mauresmo said:
Serena Williams is all women, a lot straight men say she's blessed with large breasts and a big butt. Serena also has curves, she's not a six foot three bean pole like Sharapova.
Click to expand...
I half agree with your assessment of Sharapova, Amalie. Bean pole north of the waistline, but south of the equator, Sharapova's got a pretty nice tush
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
i think Serena would win anyway but I thought Azarenka would put up a better fight had she come through in the final. Azarenka fears Serena but she doesn't fear Serena as much as Sharapova does.
 
M

MTF07

Semi-Pro
TMF said:
This is exactly what I've been saying all along. Henin is one of the most gifted/talented player of all time. Her setback is being overpowered by the bigger/stronger player. On slower court she's the best, but on fast court like grass she suffered.
Click to expand...

Henin was rarely overpowered. She hit the ball as hard or harder than any woman and her forehand was like an ATP forehand.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
MTF07 said:
Henin was rarely overpowered. She hit the ball as hard or harder than any woman and her forehand was like an ATP forehand.
Click to expand...

She just didn't have enough to win Wimbledon. Had she was a few inches taller which add more mph on both wings plus her serve, it would make a world of difference. She's very talented and had all the tools.
 
Devilito

Devilito

Hall of Fame
DRII said:
Sharapova makes way more money off of her modeling and appearances/endorsements than in tennis winnings (and more than any other female athlete)...
Click to expand...

that's fine then don't ***** about Serena overpowering you

DRII said:
and no matter how much some women workout, they would never become as 'built' as Serena or even Stossur for that matter, a significant part of those physiques is unique genetics!
Click to expand...
wrong. Unless you have a genetic deficiency any women can build enough muscle to a certain point. It just takes work. The genetics excuse is total BS. We're talking about strength and muscle for tennis, not bodybuilding. It's like some skinny guy looking at some fit guy with muscles and saying "it's genetics" wrong, it's hard work. Genetics only plays a factor at the upper most limits like bodybuilding. You could say Arnold had great genetics, but anybody can pick up some weights, have proper nutrition and build more muscle and strength than they currently have
 
THUNDERVOLLEY

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
MTF07 said:
Henin was rarely overpowered. She hit the ball as hard or harder than any woman and her forehand was like an ATP forehand.
Click to expand...

Henin lost matches not because of strength (as you pointed out) or size, but due to others being levels above her in talent--particularly at Wimbledon, where she did not have the correct tools to flourish there.
 
S

Say Chi Sin Lo

G.O.A.T.
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
....................................................................it never happened.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm saying, in all of her post-match conferences, it goes like this:

If she wins: she says she didn't have to play as well to beat blah blah blah
If she loses: she flat out discredits the victor.
 
ACE of Hearts

ACE of Hearts

Bionic Poster
Sharapova needs to pipe down.How about beating Serena for once.Ever since beating her at Wimbledon,it's all goned downhill
 
heftylefty

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
TMF said:
Sharapova is too tall for a tennis player. She's an equivalent to Isner who also suffered from terrible movement. Despite being undersized, Henin is a lot more talented than Sharapova. Both players are not the ideal size for a tennis player like Graf but Henin was simply more gifted.
Click to expand...

Too tall?
Spoken like someone that knows very little about women's athletics. There are volleyball players that are much taller and have better movement than Surgapova.
It's either poor development or she's not interested in improving because she doesn't have to.
 
T

TMF

Talk Tennis Guru
heftylefty said:
Too tall?
Spoken like someone that knows very little about women's athletics. There are volleyball players that are much taller and have better movement than Surgapova.
It's either poor development or she's not interested in improving because she doesn't have to.
Click to expand...

Is there any all time great player who's 6'2 ?

No, they are mainly from ~5'9"

Put any 6'6" volleyball player on a tennis court and their movements will never be as good as an ideal size tennis player.
 
J

jamus30

New User
I don't think any of you have correctly comprehended Maria's quote. She said that if she was Serena's build (specifically, I think she was referring more to Serena's height) she HOPES that she would have a serve a big as Serena's. I infer from her quote that she is complimentary of Serena's serve technique and doubtful that her own technique would produce serves as big as she hits now if she were not as tall as she is.
 
フェデラー

フェデラー

Hall of Fame
TMF said:
Sharapova is too tall for a tennis player. She's an equivalent to Isner who also suffered from terrible movement. Despite being undersized, Henin is a lot more talented than Sharapova. Both players are not the ideal size for a tennis player like Graf but Henin was simply more gifted.
Click to expand...

I don't see how Sharapova is too tall, Venus is 6'1'' and was an amazing mover which is why she won 5 Wimbledons.... Sharapova is just simply not as good as the williams and other greats such as Henin, Hingis or the Williams sisters.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
TMF said:
Put any 6'6" volleyball player on a tennis court and their movements will never be as good as an ideal size tennis player.
Click to expand...

Utter bull.

Taller players excel base don talent alone--if they have it.

Venus is one the best movers the game ever witnessed and she's 6'1".

Enough with the unsubstantiated "size" crap used to protect players with talent deficits, such as Sharapova.
 
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heftylefty

heftylefty

Hall of Fame
TMF said:
Is there any all time great player who's 6'2 ?

No, they are mainly from ~5'9"

Put any 6'6" volleyball player on a tennis court and their movements will never be as good as an ideal size tennis player.
Click to expand...


But a 6-2 female volleyball player would dance circles around Pova. And that's my point.
The too tall excuse is the lamest yet. I could almost respect if you posted how models are not good servers.
 
DRII

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Devilito said:
that's fine then don't ***** about Serena overpowering you


wrong. Unless you have a genetic deficiency any women can build enough muscle to a certain point. It just takes work. The genetics excuse is total BS. We're talking about strength and muscle for tennis, not bodybuilding. It's like some skinny guy looking at some fit guy with muscles and saying "it's genetics" wrong, it's hard work. Genetics only plays a factor at the upper most limits like bodybuilding. You could say Arnold had great genetics, but anybody can pick up some weights, have proper nutrition and build more muscle and strength than they currently have
Click to expand...

you seem quite naive about the female body :confused:

and Sharapova obviously has enough fitness/muscle for tennis; she #2 in the world!
 
DRII

DRII

G.O.A.T.
TMF said:
Is there any all time great player who's 6'2 ?

No, they are mainly from ~5'9"

Put any 6'6" volleyball player on a tennis court and their movements will never be as good as an ideal size tennis player.
Click to expand...

Venus Williams!
 
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