Sharapova beats Chavetadze in a nervy, error strewn performance according to the BBC, and gains a code violation for being coached by her father...... again.

Meanwhile, on the Aus Open website she is proclaimed as the face of women's tennis who must get through each round for the sponsors to remain happy.

I don't want to sound like chokapova :D , but I think it is truly sickening that the (soon to be) World No. 1, double grandslam winner, multi-millionaire so frequently deliberately flouts the rules in this way.

You get the impression that were it anyone else something would be done.

It is particularly invidious when you consider that the 'no coaching' rule is, in part, an attempt to level the playing field between rich players who can afford an entourage and those who are on the way up (or who play well but don't have bankable looks) and cannot.

Each offence should result in her father being excluded from courtside for the rest of the tournament, and also the next tournament. :ban: Repeat offences should result in longer bans which should be enforced with rigour.

I admire her determination (and she is obviously a looker), but I find her style of play ugly on the eye and the ear and for me her achievements are getting increasingly tainted by her arrogant refusal to stick to the rules that others respect. You can't blame her father, she could tell him to stop.

I started this tournament by wanting her to show the world that she can be a great champion and build on her past successes - now I want to see her bundled out asap please.

She can come back when she demonstrates that graciousness is one of her qualities.

Top post Barrystar :clap: :clap: :clap:

You can't have different rules for the players who are the most bankable, whether on looks or otherwise. It's turning the game into a joke. It's bad enough when such players miraculously get a much lighter draw than others but when they flout the rules they really should pay the price, otherwise what exactly is the point of rules? I'm sure the other day that she was allowed to challenge a line call when technically she should not have done. They'll be allowing her to overrule the umpire next. :rolleyes:

I do admire Shara's mental toughness but that's about all admire. As a person she is becoming increasingly dispicable and unfair. :angry:

In her interview apparently she said she was not looking and did not see...

Then she presumably would not mind if Yuri spent a few games watching her on TV.

As I said yesterday, Yuri should have been banned from courtside for a long time for his behaviour during last years semi-final - shouting out in the middle of an important point to distract JHH really was beyond the pale. It wouldn't be tolerated in a club juniors match, so it certainly has no place on the tour.

Mind you, it was pretty funny watching him realising he'd been caught on camera and trying to pretend it had been someone else roflmao

I agree with you both. If anything the rules should be MORE rigorously applied to the top players as they already have a number of advantages.

It appears that the powers-that-be are willing to overlook it because they don’t want to alienate their most bankable property.

Well, no player is bigger than the sport, and the Tour will be going long after Sharapova has departed it, so they should sort it out, particularly as she doesn’t seem to think she’s doing anything wrong.

It's Yuri's fault not Maria's. I bet she's told him to piss off and not come to her matches loads of times. But he won't listen :rolleyes:

You're right, he should be banned from the courtside but if the WTA, the entire governing body of women's tennis doesn't have the guts to do it then what are we to do :shrug:

How is Maria supposed to forceably stop Yuri shouting. I've heard her say shut up to him numerous times. He won't listen :angry:

If that's true, then she may be in a bit of a personal dilemma balancing loyalty against what she must (ought to) know is right. The relationship between someone like her and her father who has made her career his life's work must be complex. :phew:

Either way, we are all agreed that the WTA should act - either to make it easier for her, or to prevent her and her father from cheating.

Still very unsatisfactory and I guess it will take people being turned off by her (her team's) antics to get anything to change.

I think what they did to Davydenko was also a disgrace when one thinks about it. he is the number 3 in the world and did not play in the Laver arena (and I believe the Vodafone arena) for all his rounds but his last match. And as he puts it himself, "probably because I have no cloth sponsors with Nike and Addidas".

This is where we realise how much money again contributes to the game.

Now, where will it stop? Are we sure they can't influence line calls? Doping results? or even doping rumours?

I would not be surprised if their influence does spread to line calls, and possibly doping rumours, but only subconsciously. If any person in authority wants a result it can affect their judgment on the margins.

As far as doping results are concerned, aren't they anonymous anyway until it's too late to try any influence?

Or is it possible for a big name to have a better chance of ensuring that there is secrecy over a bad 'A' sample so that their reputation does not take a hit pending the final outcome and then for everyone to 'cross their fingers' for a 'B' sample?

Also - quite agree with what you say about Davydenko - the 3rd seed should be given more respect than that.

get rid of yuri - he's always been annoying and a distraction :ban:

Yeah poor old Davydenko :( World No 3 and treated like a qualifier that no one has heard of. I hope he speaks up and moans about it, we need the players to start this dialogue.

Sorry but I completely disagree with the Sharapova slating. I cannot for the life of me see what this girl does wrong. Lets not pretend here that coaching from the side doesn't happen, Sharapova is not the only person to try and get a bit of "inspiration" from someone how knows her game, it happens with all the players, that glint out of the corner of their eye, especially Henin too.
If we're being realistic, how exactly does this "coaching" benefit the player, an odd glance might indicate a certain type of shot to play but hey so what, it is all down to the two people on the court at that time what happens. We would be foolish to think that Yuri somehow won this match for her.

She is the worlds most consistent player at the moment, she is incredibly attractive, she gets tons of media attention which will obviously bring the sponsorship which in all honesty is only good for the game in the future. Money does make the owlrd go round, media attention will get more interest from kids who don't play etc.
A huge factor in the dislike for Sharapova is people do not like to see one person become so successful, a little niggle in the back of their mind things, yeah, this girl needs bringing down a peg or two.
I have recently thought about and realised too, she is incredibly gracious on court, especially in defeat, always acknowlodging and smiling and congratulating her conquerer as she knows she has been outplayed. Not once have I seen "bad sports" from her in that sense.
You can't say all of this about many of the top players.

Give the girl a break. She is still only 19.
It always happens though, she will be the darling of the public in later years when she gets near to retirement and people realise what she has done for the game.
It always happens.

You don't realise what you have until its gone... where would womens tennis be without her at the moment.

For bad sportsmanship have a watch of Sharapova v. Golovin - Miami 2006.

Source: www.thetennisnexus.com

Here here Trisco.

Ok well that is an incident I wasn't fully aware of. But it happens ALL the time in the womens game, bathroom breaks etc to disrupt play, it has become part and parcel of the tour.

She is not the only player to do this, they ALL do it. So what? It is just that people recognise this more as they would like to see Sharapova shot down for no reason other than subconcious jealousy.

Well I disagree but I respect your opinion Trisco. :) I'd say the same whichever player it was I felt got favourable treatment. I just dont; think it's good for the game and I feel sorry for players who get less favourable treatment. I'm not a fan of Sharapova's game but I'm not being personal.

The thing is SB, how do we know Maria is getting favourable treatment? I don't know who started these whispers but I have seen nothing contrete to back them up. [imo it would be more favourable for her to ban Yuri]

Also I think Maria gets a lot of unfair flak just because she is the golden girl, when she's gets an easy draw Im the first to go about it, but she is number one seed this time and I would hardly any of them a WTA conspiracy.

The WTA is in a very difficult position in banning Yuri, yes they should do it, as they are the only ones with the power to; but in doing so they would be banning Maria's coach from watching her matches which must also clash with some sort of protocol. It's very tricky. Also they don't want to create any feeling of hostility and bad feeling on the tour which might detract from the overall quality of tennis, which has got be said at the moment is pretty good :)

I love a winner - and a rich and good-looking one is even better :ok: Ever since Sharapova won Wimbledon I have wanted her to shed the one-hit wonder tag that some had given her. I don't like her style of play and her noise, but you cannot fail to admire her dedication - I think she deserves to have it rewarded by victories, money etc. No problem with that at all.

But.... it is not me who calls her for code violations. It is the Umpires. There is a rule against coaching and her entourage should stick to it. Breaking that rule is cheating, breaking it consistently is ridiculous.

I don't honestly know whether it is more Yuri than her - different views have been expressed on this thread.

My first target is the WTA, they should enforce their rules. But if this continues Sharapova's achievements will only be dimmed in my eyes, and I am not alone. Ultimately this may affect her bankability.

What parts do you disagree with SB?
She gets showcourt treatment as that is what the public want to see, if you pay to Centre Court, you wouldn't want to watch a match between unknown players, you want to see the start, you want to see all the drama that that brings along with it.
The tennis may be just as good to us but to less knowledgeable fans, they want to see the likes of Sharapova.

I think the blame can sit with Yuri BS. Or I guess it would be fair to say 50/50. She doesn't have to look up to him but it is automatic I guess, for ALL players. Everyone does it.

If it continued to be a problem then yes, something shoud be done about it. Its this whole tennis father business I guess.

I'll admit now that most of my dislike for Sharapova comes from the grunting.

I noticed that during the Murray-Nadal match yesterday, Murray lost a point due to shouting out during it (he shouted 'No' thinking he'd hit a ball well wide when actually it dropped on the line but was called out). He decided not to challenge as he knew himself he'd have lost the point anyway. Apparently shouting out during a point comes under the tag of "interference". How is shouting words "interference", but grunting isn't? I can't understand the difference, both must be as off putting as each other you would think.

I don't know about interference, but grunting can be counter-productive. When Shazza lost the Wimbledon SF to Venus Williams in 2005 she grunted louder and louder as her intensity went up during the match, and I thought that Venus was feeding from that - i.e. make a bigger noise little girl if you must, but this one's coming back with interest.

It may signal to opponents that they have got her under pressure, and if they feel that they can live with the tennis, the noise may give them a boost.

That said, I'd prefer her without the noise.

I like Sharapova, have followed her career with interest since seing her play live shortly before she won Wimbledon and there’s no doubt that having her at the top is good for the profile of women’s tennis. I certainly don’t want to see her ‘brought down a peg or two’.

But there’s no point having rules that are ignored. Either do away with the rule – which I guess is why some of the more minor tournaments are trialling the concept of allowing on-court coaching – or enforce it.

I certainly don’t think Sharapova should be singled out, but as top seed and the highest profile player, she will inevitably receive the most attention.

Trisco the difference between on-court coaching and bathroom breaks is the the former is against the rules, and the latter isn’t (whether it should be or not is another matter…)

I remember Andy Murray commenting in an interview that one thing he'd like to see changed in tennis would be to have coaching during a match. He said it was slightly pointless having your coach there if they couldn't do anything other than watch.

Davis Cup allows coaching and there have been great matches in the Davis Cup over the years.

I think, as long as it was implemented correctly and sensibly, that it has the potential to make tennis more interesting.

My feelings always been that on-court coaching just tilts things even further in favour of the big-name players who can afford the top coaches.

As far as I'm concerned, coaching stops when you set foot on the match court. If you haven't got the tools to go out and win the match at hand on your own without advice from a coach on how to change it if things are going against you, then that's tough - back to the practice court you go and better luck next time.

On-court coaching seems a lot to me like sitting an exam, and being allowed to nip out half way through so that your teacher can fill in the answers you can't figure out on your own.

trisco, I think you're overstating the negative reaction to Sharapova. She already is the darling of the public, for the most part. So the whole "You don't realise what you have until its gone" bit seems OTT. She's hugely popular, and there are some people who don't like her, which is true of almost all players who become hugely popular.

Sure, some people criticise Maria, and some of the criticism is justified. The on-court coaching thing is fair game in my opinion, just because it's been an ongoing issue for a couple years now. I know she's still relatively young, but if it bothers her that she catches flack over that, she should be able to do something about it. I also think the criticism of her grunting and shrieking on court is fair game, because, for me, it makes it hard to watch a match of hers with the volume on. :blink: But I do hear some criticism that just sounds like petty jealousy. Comes with the territory of fame, though.

Btw, I also don't really agree with this bit of your assessment. I have seen her at times with a rather unhappy scowl on her face, when she's losing. There was also the Golovin match, where many perceived her as acting without concern for her opponent. I don't think the whole incident came off as bad as some people portrayed it, and I don't really think players have to go overboard in being friendly and cordial toward each other. They are out there to win, after all. I think Sharapova is adequately gracious on court, but not 'incredibly gracious.'

That's right, it does seem unfair, which is why something should be done about Sharapova's father.

I'm surprised that her opponent's "camp" haven't complained much about it. I know at least at Wimbledon that the opposing camps sit on two rows near to each other.

Did anyone see this? To me, all Yuri did was swing his arm as if to say 'hit the ball'!!!!! If that gesture can suddenly make Sharapova play any better, then im gonna get my dad to start swinging his arm at me down the park on a saturday. Maybe i am being naive but as much as i dislike Yuri, his reputation seems to precede him, and it is in NO way Marias fault if he wants to swing his arms about

I didn't see it. I was just going on barrystar's message, that it was enough earn her a code violation. And I can see how a swinging arm gesture, from a coach, might mean more than just "hit the ball." It might only mean that, but if he gives certain arm gestures in practice to indicate different types of strokes, then it could very well be true coaching.

to me, he was just getting frustrated because she was missing. If it is getting Maria in trouble though, she should send him back to Siberia :P

Nor did I see it - the BBC report said this:

"It was a nervy display in which she was given a code violation after the umpire ruled that her father Yuri was coaching her during the match."

My original post was based on the fact that in the Umpire's judgment it was illegal coaching.

Yuri is a grown man, he knows the spotlight is on him. He should be able to control himself and let his daughter's racquet do the talking. I agree with Andy1073 on this - a pure contest is between two players without assistance, and allowing coaching only helps the rich players, who are not necessarily the best/most deserving (think Davydenko and Kournikova)

In most sports, the bigger players/teams do seem to get away with things a bit more.. (Ronnie O'Sullivan in snooker for example)..

Nick,

You will find a lot of hate for Sharapova if you look around the net etc, all unjustified in my opinion. Especially on Youtube but I guess they are just kids on there. "You don't realise what you have until its gone" OTT? Maybe not if you consider the public's reaction to Sampras, Navratilova, Hingis, Seles, even Agassi. All have recieved negative attention from the public for some reason or other and all when in the twilight of there careers were adored by the public (Hingis still playing of course) even they they still had these traits that they were criticised for.

If Maria was not here now, the women's game would be in quite a bad way. (Especially this tournament.)

She broke the rules and got punished, she shouldnt go moaning about it to the press :rolleyes:

Did she moan about it??

Well she protested her 'innocence ' :rolleyes:

It wasn't her fault; Mariana Alves just saw Yuri gesturing towards Maria and even though Maria clearly wasn't paying attention to him she still issued the warning for that particular incident.

There may have been some communication between the pair during the match, but when she was actually given the violation there certainly wasn't any. :shrug:

There may not have been at the time, but the amount of coaching Maria recieved today, was enough for Alves to intervene at one point.........

That doesn't really wash with me - Yuri should not make any such gestures and Maria knows that he does it.

It may be more him than her, it may be more out of over-zealousness than cold, calculated cheating, but the match officials clearly don't like it time and again and the authorities are close to turning a blind eye. The sanction of a code violation is pathetic, far more suited to general bad behaviour (racquet smashing) than something which the WTA must regard as cheating.

If you have rules, enforce them
No rules, no game