Gym work pays off for Sharapova

MARIA SHARAPOVA claimed she had reached a new physical peak after overpowering Justine Henin-Hardenne to capture the US Open title.

The Russian stepped up her workload in the gym after bowing out in the last four at Wimbledon in July.

And duly the third seed added the New York title to her 2004 Wimbledon triumph by beating Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4 6-4 at Flushing Meadows.

Second seed Henin-Hardenne had beaten Sharapova in their previous four meetings but she displayed the greater patience in last night’s final, often winning the longer rallies.

“A lot of the balls that I got, I don’t think I probably would have got a year ago,” said the 19-year-old. “Maybe if I would have got it, I would have been running to the woods even if I got it. Then the next ball would be a winner. But I feel like I’m able to hit those over and over again.

“Against a player where you need to be patient, you need to run (down) many balls.

“Not only do you mentally have to be prepared for it, but physically. I definitely feel a lot better physically than I did last year.”

Sharapova attributed her success to her training regime since losing to eventual champion and world number one Amelie Mauresmo in the Wimbledon semi-finals.

“After Wimbledon I took one week off, and came back to Los Angeles and I worked with one fitness coach for seven days,” Sharapova said. “I probably spent maybe two or three hours of the day doing fitness, and maybe an hour or so hitting the ball.

“The week after that, I started playing more tennis. I played twice a day. I played some matches, did a little bit of fitness, just alone, did some things that I took from the week before.

“I went into San Diego and I thought I moved better than I’ve moved in my career.”

Henin-Hardenne, who was playing in her fourth grand slam final of the year, was impressed with Sharapova’s assertiveness on the court.

“I couldn’t play that aggressively,” the Belgian said.

“She had a lot of time, and she was going for the winners. She did come to the net; I didn’t. Sometimes it is like this. Even if you know you have to do it, it’s not easy to do it in every match. So she’s been brave, and more than me. That made a big difference.” Sharapova was not planning to rest on her laurels.

“I guess I’m not here to compliment my own self,” said Sharapova. “I’m thrilled that I just won my second major.

“(But) at the end of the day, I’m not done yet. I feel like I’m not done. I still have years to go in my career where I feel like I am going to improve and I am going to become a better player than I am today.”

At a minimum, Sharapova needs to work on her trophy acceptances.

After accepting her prize for winning the Open, Sharapova lifted her trophy over her head – only to see the top fall off and land on the court.