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King To Queen: 'You Did Great'

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By PAUL ALEXANDER, The Associated Press

Published: January 27, 2008

MELBOURNE, Australia - When Maria Sharapova walked on the court for the Australian Open women's final, she kept thinking about the sage advice of another champion.

"Champions take chances, and pressure is a privilege," Billie Jean King had written in a text message that Sharapova saw when she woke up.

"I took mine," fifth-ranked Sharapova said after beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 Saturday for her third Grand Slam title.

Sharapova, who didn't lose a set in seven matches, was determined that nothing would stop her after winning only three games against Serena Williams in last year's final. She was over a shoulder problem that plagued her last year. She was hitting winners with regularity. Her focus never wavered, even when her usually dependable serve briefly let her down.

She wasn't as sharp as when she ended top-ranked Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak in the quarterfinals, or when she beat No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. But there was no doubt she deserved to win.

"I did the things I needed to do in order to win the match," said Sharapova, making it sound more simple than it was.

Ivanovic, who like Sharapova is 20, will rise to No. 2 in the new rankings.

"I'm still young, and I still think I have a lot of Grand Slam finals in front of me," she said. "It hurts a bit now, but I'm sure I can learn from it."

Sharapova first met King, winner of 39 singles and doubles Grand Slam titles, at a juniors tournament when she was 13 or 14. She woke up Saturday to King's inspirational text message.

"I had those great words in my mind during the match," she said, adding that when it was over, she got another message: "Congratulations. You did great."

Sharapova's victory was the fifth major by a Russian woman. When she won, she dropped to her knees and appeared to be fighting back tears as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd. She shook hands and exchanged high-fives with her father and fans.

Sharapova wished her mother, Yelena, a happy birthday and told her how she planned to spend some of her $1.2 million in prize money.

"With this big, fat check, I'm going to send you a bunch of roses," she said. "Last year I lost on her birthday, and this year I said I'm going to make it up to her, and I did."

MEN'S DOUBLES: Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram became the first Israeli doubles pairing to win a Grand Slam, outlasting Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement 7-5 7-6 (4).

Keyword: Sports for the result of the late men's final between Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

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