Sharapova may talk trash, but she's a dedicated jock

Maria Sharapova was heavily heckled during her Fed Cup debut last weekend in Israel. David Silverman/Getty Images

At the end of their Fed Cup match in Israel, Maria Sharapova said to Shahar Peer, "You should have learned the lesson from yesterday," referring to Peer cheering on the crowd to root for her. I think that after beating Peer one-and-one in front of Peer's home crowd (Peer's first time playing in Israel in an official international match), to say that to her during the handshake was very low-class. At that moment, Sharapova also made a "hush" sign to the crowd. She should know better than to put salt on the losers' wounds a minute after the match. A sore winner, I should say. Your thoughts?
-- Eyal Brenner, Tel Aviv, Israel

This will be an unpopular answer, but this little flourish of trash talk -- even assuming Peer's account is accurate -- didn't bother me so much. The crowd was just killing Sharapova, imitating her grunting with each stroke and responding the Peer's gestures to get loud.

That's fine. (I was going to write "Perfectly kosher" but then thought better of it.) Fans are allowed to be partisans. But after getting heckled for an hour, Sharapova ought to be entitled to dish it back.

A broader point: I have a new found appreciation for Sharapova, and not simply because she added to her trophy haul last week. For all we hear about her endorsements and Internet fame, she is, at heart, a serious jock. Too many players have used tennis simply as a vehicle for fame.

Anna Kournikova is the most obvious exponent but how many men are there on the ATP who are content making $500,000, dating a model, driving a sports car and, hey if they make the occasional quarterfinal, great, but it's nothing to get worked up about?

Sharapova, by contrast, is a gamer. She practices like crazy. She did two-a-days during the offseason. When her ranking plummeted last year, she could easily have said, "Oh well. I made $20 million. Which way to Club Buddha?"

Instead, she worked her way back. She likes combat; she likes competition; she likes the process of being a champion. Say what you will about her unstylish game, her dad's antics, her regal disposition -- when she steps on the court, she is invested in her performance. There's plenty to be said for that.

You forgot to mention the "anti-Slam" champions. If my deductions are correct, they were Donald Young on the men's side and Laura Granville on the women's.
-- Edward Carlson, Stockton, Calif.

And here we thought the Americans didn't achieve anything in Australia. Let's see: Young lost to Michael Berrer who lost to Andy Roddick who lost to King Philipp Kohlschreiber who lost to Jarkko Nieminen who lost to Rafael Nadal who lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who lost to Novak Djokovic. Granville lost to Yvonne Müsburger who lost to Eva Makarova who lost to Nadia Petrova who lost to Agnieszka Radwanska who lost to Daniela Hantuchova who lost to Ana Ivanovic who lost to Sharapova.

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