Ascolta l’intervista esclusiva con Tatiana Garbin

MELBOURNE _ Un caldo bestiale, 41 gradi (e 45 sul centrale!), un sole cocente, condizioni davvero impossibili nel Continente già messo in ginocchio dalla siccità al punto che molti agricoltori nei mesi scorsi hanno fatto la scelta più disperata, togliendosi addirittura la vita. Non certo la vita, ma una partita di primo turno, ha rischiato invece di perdere la bella Maria Sharapova, una delle tre grandi favorite dell’Open d’Australia insieme con Amelie Mauresmo e Kim Clijsters, ma messa a dura, durissima prova, da un match che sulla carta alla vigilia pareva invece scontato.
Mentre tutti gli incontri della seconda giornata dell’Australian Open programmati sui campi non coperti dal tetto sono stati sospesi dalle 13 locali in poi (per il caldo e l’umidità), per poco infatti Maria Sharapova _ che era scesa in campo prima _ non è finita arrosto nella graticola della Rod Laver Arena con una piccola incontrista francese di 25 anni, Camille Pin (n.62 del mondo) che forse per essere nata a Nizza e non in Siberia ha sopportato meglio di lei quel caldo allucinante.
Per due volte Maria, si è trovata a due punti dalla sconfitta, sul 7-6 30-15 e poi 30 pari (serviva la Pin), in una partita che, vinto il primo set 6-3 e perso il secondo 6-4, pareva finita molto prima, sul 5-0 e 0-30 per lei nel terzo. Invece Maria, che forse avrebbe dovuto imparare dai Tuareg Blu a coprirsi di più quando le condizioni sono così estreme anziché lasciare abbondantemente scoperte le spalle rosso fuoco (nonostante la crema protettiva +40…), aveva sciupato due matchpoint sul 5-2 e, ormai semovente _ lei che di solito procede a passo di marcia fra un punto e l’altro _ non sembrava quasi in grado di portare a termine il match dopo averne mancato un terzo sul 6-5. Le faceva male lo stomaco, aveva chiesto l’intervento del fisioterapista, la lucidità era evaporata nella luce abbagliante.
Ma, vi piacciano o meno i suoi gridolini strozzati, gli atteggiamenti da star, le movenze da modella, Maria, con il suo corsetto di taffeta aderente bianco sul gonnellino giallo-limone Nike con su raffigurata un’orchidea e le sue iniziali MS, resta una combattente nata. Il suo corpicino abbronzato e dorato non si è liquefatto, ma pur cercando di ripararsi nei piccoli angoli d’ombra fra un punto e l’altro, ha saputo approfittare del “braccino” della sua avversaria, certo non abituata a simili platee, e da quel 7-6 40-15 per l’angosciata Camille ha sparato due gran dritti di risposta, assai coraggiosi per la verità, e infilato undici punti consecutivi (complice anche un doppio fallo della stralunata francese che le ha dato il 7 pari) e portato dunque a casa il match, 6-3,4-6,9-7.
“E’ uno dei match più duri che io abbia mai giocato” ha confessato Maria a caldo _ è il caso di dirlo _ ancora sul campo, due ore prima di affrontare, dopo massaggi e cure di reidratazione (“Mi ha salvato il Gatorade” ha avuto la sfrontatezza di dire lei, che naturalmente da quella bevanda è supersponsorizzata). “Chapeau! _ si è congratulata la delusa Camille dal bel dritto_ pensavo ormai che questa sarebbe stata la mia grande giornata e invece è svanito il sogno”.
“Non avrò problemi a recuperare, con un giorno di intervallo _ avrebbe detto poi Maria, attesa al secondo dalla russa Rodionova che ha dato una severa lezione alla nostra (irriconoscibile) Roberta Vinci, 6-3,6-1, e per nulla scossa dal fatto che il pubblico tifasse per la sua avversaria, così come del resto anche la sala stampa e tutti gli spogliatoi. Kirilenko a parte non è che Maria abbia molte amiche…Di amici ne ha pochi anche David Nalbandian, un altro che se l’è vista brutta. Il serbo Janko Tipsarevic ha avuto due matchpoint nel terzo set, ma si è ritrovato al quinto e lì, sul 2-1 per l’argentino si è arreso al caldo e ai ricordi della grande opportunita svanita.
Prima che i match fossero sospesi, oltre alla Vinci n.87 da Anastasia Rodionova (n.100) aveva perso anche Starace n.89 del mondo 7-6,6-4,6-4 con l’altro argentino Chela (n.33), dopo aver servito invano sul 5-4 nel primo set, aver sciupato tre palle break consecutive all’inizio del secondo “E poi sotto due set a zero con quel caldo impossibile sentivo di non avere la forza per rimontare…già all’inizio facevo fatica a respirare”. Respira maluccio, anzi proprio male anche il tennis italiano, ora che dei primi nove incontri ne ha persi sette al primo round, prima che _ calura permettendo _ provino a tirarci su di morale la Garbin (contro la Gagliardi) e magari Seppi contro Reynolds, più che il catanese Di Mauro alle prese con la “promessa” argentina Del Potro probabilmente fuori dalla sua portata.
E respirava male anche Cristophe Rochus, costretto a ritirarsi di fronte a Grosjean, mentre il fratellino più piccolo e più dotato, Olivier, a dispetto del suo metro e 65 ha annullato un po’ di matchpoints all’italo-australiano Gruccione che pure stazza i 2 metri.
Tatiana Garbin, che festeggia con la posizione n.33 la sua miglior classifica di sempre, ha vinto alla distanza sulla Gagliardi,3-6,6-2,6-1 e dice:”Non ho mai giocato meglio di così. Però con queste temperature non si dovrebbescendere in campo…e invece accade anche in tornei minori meno esposti degli Slam. A Modena ho giocato alle 14, a Palermo anche…qui negli spogliatoi hanno attaccato un cartello con la situazione del tempo, medio, caldo…e poi hanno aggiunto una freccia verso il basso e scritto accanto: Ridicolous! Una ragazza è scesa in campo e si è sentita male, aveva 41 di febbre”.
Intanto, mentre scrivo Di Mauro ha preso la prevedibile lezione da Del Potro, 6-3,6-1,6-1, mentre Seppi ha vinto il primo set 6-1 su Reynolds e Flavia Pennetta perde 6-5 dalla Kanepi (e sono le una meno venti! Altre 12 ore qui…), mentre Lleyton Hewitt ha rimontato due set di handicap a Russell (vi ricordate l’americano che ebbe il matchpoint contro Guga Kuerten, quel giorno che poi il brasiliano disegnò il cuore sul campo centrale del Roland Garros?) . Insomma in questo momento il bilancio italiano è di 8 sconfitte e 3 vittorie, con 2 inconti ancora da concludere, di Seppi e Pennetta. Poi Seppi ha vinto,alle 3,33 di notte, dopo aver annullato un matchpoint sul 5-6 (e propria seconda di servizio), rimontando da due set a uno sotto. Invece Flavia ancora nel 2007 deve vincere una partita. Maledetto polso
L’intervista di Maria Sharapova:

Q. How much physically did that game take out of you, that match? You’ve been a while coming to the press conference. Did you take a while to recover?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I had to see the doctor because I did get a medical time out, so I did have to go see the doctor. He had to examine me and had to make sure I drank a lot and just kind of rested and sort of recovered a little bit.
Q. How tough was it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was really tough. You know, it was hard to think about what you were going to do on court because you were just mentally trying to find a way to kind of make the points shorter and basically trying to find a way to win. But sometimes when it’s that hot outside, your mind doesn’t work properly.
Q. Do you feel that once they’ve reached a level where they’ve decided to close the roof then they should do it regardless of a match?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Definitely, yeah. We probably played an hour and a half, two hours in the conditions where the roof should have been closed, yeah.
Q. Did you feel that was somewhat unfair then?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. It’s the same as it is for my opponent. I’m not going to complain about it.
Q. Do you think it’s putting players’ health at risk, possibly playing in heat like this?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, yeah, it’s inhumanly possible to play three hours in that kind of heat. I don’t think our bodies were made to do that.
But like I said, I mean, it was hot for me and it was hot for my opponent, as well. It was just a matter of who could, I don’t know, win, I guess.
Q. It’s not hard for your it’s the same for your opponent, but it’s not the same for the rest of the field because they aren’t asked to go out and play, they’re stopped from going out. Is that the unfairness of the rule?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don’t know, the match was at 11:00 and I won the first set and I could have easily won it in two and there would have been a lot less people in this press conference and it would have been a one hour and fifteen minute match, and there would be no talk about it.
I mean, I did lose the second set. I was up 5 0. All those are facts. But that’s the way it goes. You know, those are the things that happen. You know, I mean, I could feel a lot worse with a loss right now.
Q. Do you think it’s a good rule that you’ve played with the roof open and other people were told not to go out and play? Do you think that’s a good rule?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, the rule is where it is. I mean, the rule is if you start at a condition where the roof doesn’t have to be closed, you finish the match.
I mean, a rule is a rule. Do I like it? Not necessarily, no.
Q. Conditions aside, why was the match so tough?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: The conditions (laughing). I don’t think you can really put that aside. In the middle of the second at points in the match you’re not really worrying about how you’re playing or what you’re doing, you’re just trying to find a way to basically win a point in as short a time as possible because it’s physically really draining.
Q. Did you need an IV drip or any other special treatment after?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I was just no, I just saw the doctor and a lot of hydration and stuff.
SCANAGATTA: When a strong favorite, as you were today, is twice two points far from defeat, what goes through your mind? Are you worried about
MARIA SHARAPOVA: This sucks (laughter). That it really sucks. I mean, what else can you think? Not only have you been in like 47 degree heat for three hours, but you’re also like two points away from losing the match.
So like I said, I could be feeling a lot worse if I had lost the match.
Q. People asked if you were feeling quite unwell at times today. Have you ever felt that bad? Were your legs like jelly? What was going on with you physically?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Actually in the middle of the second set, the reason I called the trainer was because in the middle of the second set I started getting some pinches in my abdominal muscle. It didn’t happen while I was hitting a stroke and it didn’t feel like a cramp, so I kind of played with it.
As the third set went on it was becoming more frequent so I was taking more deep breaths. I’ve definitely played in these sort of conditions, but I don’t think for such a long period of time.
Q. You made some comments about supporting the tournament this time of year. Considering what you went through today, would you rethink those comments?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Let’s not say I said I support it. I said it’s hard to put one of the biggest tournaments of the year and say, Yeah, we’re going to move it towards the middle of the year.
Do you think I support that I want to go out and play three hours in this kind of heat? No. I mean that would just be stupid. But you’ve got to it’s common sense. It’s really hard to just take a big tournament and just move it where you’ve got you’ve got a tournament every single week. Why don’t you just move it? I mean, that’s kind of
Q. But considering the conditions down here at this time of year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah. I mean, I think all players would prefer to play in better conditions. But like I said, I mean, it takes time to change this. It doesn’t I don’t know how long people have been thinking of changing this event to move to a different time of the year.
Q. Were you kicking yourself after she got back to 5 All in the third, or were you just so delirious
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I was so delusional I couldn’t think. At that point you’re just after the ten minute break I felt a lot better. I felt like I could think. But actually, when it was like 3 or 4, I started feeling delusional again.
It’s hard to explain because as much as you want to think about what you want to do to win a point, you just can’t.
Q. So when she was serving for it and she was two points from the match, were you just saying, All right, just fight or just end it or I don’t really care either way?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t saying let’s just end it and lose. I mean, I don’t know what I was thinking, I really don’t know.
I mean, I was definitely trying to find a way to win, yeah. I mean, I tried to find a way to win the whole match.
Q. Do you remember how you won it in the end, any particular shots, or is it all just a bit of a blur?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, after splitting sets I felt like I was attacking more, especially her serving, which is one of her weaknesses. But I didn’t feel like I was putting any pressure on her serve.
And yeah, when she was up a break in the third, I definitely felt like there were one or two balls where I got a better hit at it and I was able to move in and put some pressure on her.
I don’t know, I guess it’s a couple things here and there. But like I said, it’s just hard to really think of what I should have done right.
Q. The stomach thing, what did it finally turn out to be? And secondly, had you tried that dress out much in hot, sunny weather where you looked like you might have had a little bit of a burn?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I put sunscreen on, I don’t know. I’ll see tomorrow. They said it was like a mini cramp or something, I guess, because it was nothing because it didn’t happen when I was hitting a ball. It was just kind of like a sudden little pinch and then I started feeling it more frequently.
So yeah, they said it’s been okay after I finished the match. It settled down.
Q. What was the worst thought you had during the match?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Worst thought? I mean, it’s hard to think of I don’t know. You don’t think much, that’s the thing. Technically you’re not really thinking, that’s the problem.
In a way you should be thinking because you should I mean, you should be just going out and you should be playing your tennis, but you also should have some conscious effort of what you’re doing out there, and that’s kind of that’s just hard to do in these conditions.
Q. Are you confident you’re going to physically recover?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah, yeah. I have a day. I’ll be ready.
Q. Did it ever cross your mind to stop?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. I mean, unless I was just no, definitely not.
Q. Why is that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why? Because I’m not a quitter. I’m not just going to stop because of the heat.
l’INTERVISTA DI CAMILLE PIN:

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Camille?

Q. It was so close and yet so far. How do you feel now reflecting on the match?
CAMILLE PIN: Right now actually I feel very disappointed. But now that I’ve been around, I’ve been half an hour at the restaurant, and I can see people saying, “Well, you did great today,” so I feel a bit better now.
But I was so close that I thought it was my day but apparently it was not, so next time.

Q. What about the heat? Was it affecting her more than you, or were you coping with it better do you think?
CAMILLE PIN: Maybe she felt a bit worse than me, but maybe I didn’t show it too much. That’s good, but my legs were like very it was very sore and my feet were burning.
But I had to deal with that because I knew the match would have to continue. But it was pretty tough, yeah.

Q. Did you find any shade at all when you were out there, or did you try and just keep yourself going and keep yourself
CAMILLE PIN: You mean at the third set break?

Q. Yeah. Obviously you had the longer break there, but just generally on court?
CAMILLE PIN: Yeah, I just stayed outside of the court because I used to have this break under the air conditioning, and it killed me completely. So I tried to stay under the shade but not too far away from the match conditions.
And so that’s why I came back five minutes before, to stay on my seat to try to stay in the same conditions, but actually it didn’t help me at all. Actually it was very tough, and that’s why I was 5 Love down. I had no more power in my legs.
For me maybe it would be better to keep going after the second, yeah.

Q. Rather than have the ten minute break?
CAMILLE PIN: Yeah, it was not good for me. Better for Maria for sure, but for me it was a very bad thing.

Q. Describe how your feet felt and how your body felt out there.
CAMILLE PIN: I was feeling a little bit how do you say? My legs were a bit shaking, so I tried to put ice on it and tried not to think about it too much because anyway we had to play. We had to keep going.

Q. You could have won. You were up a break. What happened with that game when you were serving?
CAMILLE PIN: What I was thinking when I started the game is I really wanted to try to stay aggressive and do not I didn’t have to wait for her to make mistakes, so that was my first goal.
But actually she did great on this game and I couldn’t even touch the ball. Like she aimed for the perfect stroke, and so I couldn’t do anything on this game.
I was really sad to miss it, but she’s No. 2 in the world and she’s succeeded to do what she had to do on this game.

Q. Do you think the rules are fair, that you are required to continue playing when play is stopped on other courts?
CAMILLE PIN: What do you mean you

Q. Well, the extreme heat policy was brought in for the outside courts, but because you’ve already started you had to carry on. Do you think that is fair?
CAMILLE PIN: Actually I was not aware of that during the play, so when we stopped, I was like, Well, that’s not very fair because we played three hours. But I think when we started the match it was the same conditions for both of us, so it’s fair this way, and I think there’s nothing to do about that.
Maybe we have to change all the rules, but I understand that the match started and so we have to keep going, and it’s like this. It was bad luck for both of us, but we had to deal with that, yeah.

Questo articolo è stato pubblicato Martedì, 16 Gennaio 2007 alle 09:53 e classificato in Australian Open, Grand Slam, Interviste. Puoi seguire i commenti a questo articolo tramite il feed RSS 2.0. Puoi inviare un commento.