THE SCOOP: MONDAY, march 14
'Coach' Pierce schools Vaidisova; Sharapova recalls Monica moments
Mary: 'I would be a really good coach'

By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Mary Pierce used her experience to defeat Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-4 at Indian Wells.

FROM THE PACIFIC LIFE OPEN AT INDIAN WELLS – After she dispatched 15-year-old Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of the Pacific Life Open, two-time Slam champ Mary Pierce was asked what type of game a player would need to dominate the sport. Her answer sounded like she was referring to Serena Williams or Justine Henin-Hardenne in their primes. Neither of those two former No. 1 players are playing Indian Wells, but a slew of up and comers are, including Vaidisova who had her high ball toss chopped up by the howling winds and her mediocre movement exposed by Pierce.

"[She have] an all-court court game, able to do everything," Pierce said of the potential dominator. "Have a big serve, big returns, solid returns, be fast, have big strokes from both sides, forehand, backhand. Also not be afraid to come in."

It took Pierce a good five years before she was comfortable charging the net but now, she'll close on most short balls. At age 29 without a lot of foot speed, she has little choice. Moreover she's seen the befit of shortening points.

"I think sometimes, you get set in a way when you first learn how to play," she said. "If you don't learn to go in at an early stage, then you don't feel comfortable doing it. You run to the net – 'Uh-oh.' Because the point is going to be over pretty soon. I think they get a little bit afraid to lose the point instead of looking at it as, coming forward, being aggressive, you're going to win the point."

Some day in the far off future, Pierce might coach the French Fed Cup team. For someone who was troubled as a youth and who once shied away from leaderships roles, she's come a long way from the days she would only talk about herself and her own interests. She says she'd be a great coach.

Mary: 'I would be a really good coach'
"I have a lot of experience in a lot of areas, not just tennis," she said. "I think there's a lot of things to being a champion in tennis. I have quite a bit of knowledge. I obviously do not know everything, but I do feel like I know quite a bit, that I would be a really good coach. Is that something I would do in the future? I don't know. … There's a bunch of things that I could do in the future. I'm starting to think about those kind of things. Eventually, when I do retire, I'll just take some time for myself and really think about what I'm going to do."

Pierce said that not only do players have to build their own mansions on court, but keep their houses in order off court. Countless players have fallen by the wayside because their personal lives became messy and they let their off-court emotions spill over the baselines. She may not be an all-time great, but she's a borderline Hall of Famer. Give now much hell she went though as teen, that's a heck of an accomplishment.

"Being a professional tennis player is a lifestyle; it's a 24/7," she said. "Everything that you do matters: resting, eating, and sleeping, even your free time, what you do with that. Just relationships and family, all those kind of things. There's a lot of things that come into play."

The American-Frenchwoman dedicated her victory over Vaidisova to her paternal grandmother, who's never seen her play."Family: It's so strong and such a motivating thing, and it's a very important thing," said Pierce, who will face Nadia Petrova in the fourth round.

Cynthia Lum/WireImage.com

Maria Sharapova is acting like a veteran.

Sharapova recalls Monica moments
Maria Sharapova's family is also very important to her and her father and coach, Yuri, was extremely pleased to see his daughter out slug Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-3. Sharapova has now hit that elite stage that other players just dream about: Unless someone is playing at the very top of her level, she'll routine them. The 17-year-old has only one Slam title, but she's 19-2 since the WTA Championships. One of those defeats was dead rubber-round robin loss to Amelie Mauresmo and the other one was her harrowing three-set defeat to Serena at the Aussie Open.

She's come along way from her pro debut here in 2002, when she upset Brie Rippner before being taken down by Monica Seles.

"I lost 1 and 0 to Monica but I thought I played so good," Sharapova said. "You look back and think, even though you lost so easy, you improved the things that you needed to improve. You wanted to work harder in order to get better, even though you thought you played the best you could. I went on court, and I remember first two games were really, really difficult against Monica. Deuce. I had breakpoints. I think I might have even broken her. You just think you're playing so good. But the top people, they're not worried. 'Oh, I lost a break.' They know what to do."

Somewhat similar to Pierce, Sharapova is now being asked to give out advice to other young players. That's pretty heady stuff for a 17-year-old. "Nothing can happen that quickly," she said. "You can't just play your first big tournament and all of a sudden, you're the greatest. It takes a lot of time to develop little things in your game that can make you better," said Sharapova will play Columbia's Fabiola Zuluaga, who knocked out Daniela Hantuchova.