Mal Taam/MALTphoto Life remain a mystery to Maria.

Zheng Stops Sharapova, Dementieva Keeps Cranking Along

FROM THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN IN INDIAN WELLS – Tt sure isn’t getting easier for Maria Sharapova to pull off wins over very good players, and nine months into her comeback, it looks like her goals to be a top five competitor again is going to take a lot longer than anticipated, especially if she continues to have trouble holding serve.

In a not all together stunning defeat, Sharapova was out run and out hit late in her 6 2, 2 6, 6 3 loss to China’s Jie Zheng, losing the last four games of the contest with highly erratic play. Sharapova’s vaunted return kept her in the match and allowed her to get up a break at 3-2, but Zheng continued to tear apart Sharapova’s second serve, played nearly as aggressively from the backcourt and patiently waited until the Russian fell slightly out of her backcourt hitting zone and pounced.

Sharapova was treated for a right elbow injury up a break at 3-2, and will have her elbow looked at, but doesn’t seem to think it’s serious. However, she did feel similar pain at last year’s US Open.

A“I just felt like I couldn't really extend it all the way,” she said. “It was a little stuck. I'm not sure if it's the balls or maybe the air and the tension is a little bit tighter. But [the trainer] said that more than average have been complaining about arms, so I don't know.”
Zheng is substantially better than her No. 21 ranking on great days and she reached that level in the first set and for most of the third. She isn’t just a standard counterpuncher and is more powerful and owns more variety that it appears on first glance.

“She's like a ball machine,” Sharapova said. “She hits mean, I'd say I should have done a much better job on her serve, because her serve is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game, but...”
Sharapova has to find a way dictate more off her serve, because she is playing off her back foot when she’s not getting her first serve and many times, she’s put into defensive positions even when she gets her first serve in. She’s rarely hitting aces or service winners and isn’t locating either her blasts or kick serves close enough to the lines. If she’s going to rejoin the top five and win more Slams, she has to find a way to illicit mid court returns out of her opponents and she didn’t do that nearly enough against Zheng. Interestingly, even though she’s stronger, quicker and better balanced than she once was due to all the off court work she’s put in, Sharapova been unable to completely compensate for her drop in service efficiency, which is why she’s having trouble putting away average opponents easily, and overcoming top-shelf foes like Zheng.

“I returned good. I'd have periods of good games, and then the problem is trying to keep them all together and not being so up and down,” she said.
“Obviously trying to put things together and if you break, hold, then great; if you don't, you've got to do the same thing that you did when you broke her and not make stupid errors. It was just very inconsistent. That's pretty much the bottom line.”

Mal Taam/MALTphoto Jie hits a mean ball. “Sharapova now has one big event before heading to the dreaded clay – Miami -- and she needs to go fairly deep there if she hopes to crack the top eight by Paris. She’s a bit unsure of what is going to drive her back to the top again, but said that she’s not too discouraged nine months into her comeback. She shouldn’t be yet, but it can’t be easy to be hopeful every day.

Her comeback is no longer fresh and the rest of locker room is very way of her vulnerabilities.

“It's just the mystery of the unknown,” she said “We can only do so much and work as much as we can. It's a combination of both physically and mentally just getting stronger and little steps. I think I'm doing a lot better than other people that have had shoulder surgery in their careers. Some people have never come back. What, I'm 13 in the world or something? That's a lot better than some of the girls I've lost to in the last year.”

Russian veteran Elena Dementieva keeps on ticking, still chasing that elusive Slam. She’s a freak of nature, never tiring of the tour grind and unlike compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, isn’t riddled with motivation trouble during various parts of the season. And for good reason.

I am exciting every week, every match. That's why I'm keep playing,” she said after her 6-4, 6-2 win over Kirsten Flipkens. Maybe because comparing to Svetlana I never win a Grand Slam, so... Well, for sure I have motivation and I have some goals in my career, and this is what keeps me going. This is why my motivation was never a question for me.”