It was to be the Glam Slam, the squealer versus the squeakier. Instead, Saturday's Australian Open women's final was a battle of brinkmanship and jangling nerves. Ana Ivanovic blinked first and Maria Sharapova was the champion.
Russia's tennis Tsarina beat Ivanovic 7-5 6-3 to win her third grand slam title and atone for last year's loss in the final to Serena Williams. It was an emphatic title - she won the crown without losing a set in seven matches. "I love you everyone, thanks so much for everything," the former Wimbledon and US Open champion beamed as she held aloft the trophy.
"This morning I got a text from Billie Jean King saying champions take chances and pressure is a privilege. I am just glad I could take my chances today." For fellow 20-year-old Ivanovic, it was a second grand slam final defeat and one which left her in tears. "It hurts a bit now but I am sure I can learn from this," she told reporters. "Already I felt better in today's final than in last year's French Open final, so that's good.
"Of course I am disappointed but I feel I have plenty of grand slam finals ahead of me." It took 91 minutes on a centre court cauldron for Sharapova to finish off the Serb. When she did so, she sank to her knees as her opponent's forehand sailed wide on matchpoint, looking skywards as tears filled her green eyes.
Brilliant in a white fringed dress, her blonde pony-tail pulled behind a white visor, Sharapova fairly shimmered on Rod Laver Arena. Ivanovic's shoes still squeaked when she returned and Sharapova certainly shrieked as play got underway.
The Russian, who struggled with injury throughout 2007, won the toss and elected to receive but Ivanovic stared her down and held comfortably. Sharapova's serve was something else, however. Powerful and well-directed, she dominated on her own delivery. She got the breakthrough in the fifth game when she slammed a backhand winner to move 3-2 ahead. That winner was accompanied by the loudest shriek of the match - so loud a baby in the stands started crying.
It was not until the eighth game of the match that Sharapova lost even a point on her serve, but having achieved that mini breakthrough Ivanovic's confidence grew and she broke thanks to two double faults from the Russian.
Back on serve, the Serb celebrated with a strange clenched fist pump that started with her arm extended before she snatched it into her body. The Pavlovian yell of "C'mon" followed. Three games later Sharapova nosed ahead again, though, which heralded more fist-pumping and she duly served out to love to clinch the set 7-5 as the mercury reached 34 degrees Celsius.
Melbourne's Serb population was in fine voice but could do little to raise their favourite. Sharapova grabbed a break in the seventh game of the second set and smelt blood. Not even a piece of advertiser's music accidentally blaring from an on-court speaker could put her off as she comfortably held serve for a 5-3 lead.
Ivanovic's head dropped and she quickly fell behind 0-40 to hand the Russian three championship points. Ivanovic saved the first two but victory was Sharapova's when the Serb's forehand flew wide.
"It's amazing," Sharapova said. "Sometimes when you're putting the work in it just seems so, so hard. "When you're going through tough moments, you never know when you're going to have good moments. I'm just so thankful that I got this one."
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