I'd heard much about the "next Anna Kournikova," 17 year old Maria Sharapova, but I'd never seen her play. Then, during lunch today, I caught the last set of her match against Ai Sugiyama.
Wow. Not only is she gorgeous (blonde, 6 feet tall, seemingly two thirds of that are her legs; she wore designer earrings during her match), but more importantly, she can flat out play. It seemed she couldn't miss that last set, pounding rockets off serve, forehands, backhands, volleys, overheads. During matches, her face always conveys her fierce determination and competitive spirit, and she screams everytime she bludgeons the ball. After every winning point, she pumped her left fist.
Once the match ended, she melted and became a little girl, smiling, clutching her face in disbelief, and blowing kisses to the crowd. Okay, can Siberia really be all that cold? Sharapova's about to go supernova.
The women's game is healthy. I haven't watched much tennis in a long time, but with the Williams sisters, Capriati, Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters, Sharapova, Myskina, Davenport, Mauresmo, and Dementieva, there's a ton of depth at the top.