Sharapova's post-Wimbledon run, although certainly not a disaster, had been inconsistent and less than spectacular. However, her appearance in this season-ending tournament provided a number of breakthroughs for her with wins against fellow Russian stars Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Myskina; all three of whom Sharapova had previously managed losing records against. Although appearing exhausted and overwhelmed with her new-found responsibilities and pressures as a top ranked player, Sharapova played on court with vim and vigor against each of her opponents, with the exception of her round-robin encounter with #2 Amelie Mauresmo, who defeated her in straight sets.

Williams, who thoroughly dominated the tour in 2002 and the first half of 2003, was sidelined for nearly 8 months with an injury and has experienced a relatively disappointing comeback with only part-time appearances on the WTA Tour since March of 2004. But Williams fought bravely and with impressive determination through the round-robin and semis this past week to gain her spot in the final and an opportunity to perhaps re-establish herself as a significant factor in major tournaments.

With the stage set for high drama, neither player disappointed. Both came out of the starting gates on-form and played daring, high-caliber tennis. Williams managed the only break of the first set in the ninth game and held on to take the lead. But Sharapova hung in and fought for a lead in the 2nd. As each game passed, Williams began to play more cautiously and looked increasingly concerned. Down 2-5, she called a medical timeout and was treated for an abdominal strain which clearly hampered her level of play for the remainder of the match.

Straining for each serve, her usual 100+ mph bombs disappeared into softer and softer attempts, sometimes as low as 65 mph and double faults increased. But Sharapova, inexperienced and clearly confused as to what tactics she should use, began to fall apart and a stunned record-crowd of over 11,000 simultaneously cheered Williams as she refused to quit while bracing themselves for what appeared to be a massive choke from Sharapova in the light of an extraordinary opportunity in such a high profile match.

Down 0-4 and on the precipice of disaster, Sharapova regrouped and found her composure. While Williams was able to keep the power in her groundstrokes, her serve became a liability and her movement was hampered. Sharapova ultimately rallied six straight games to win the championship.

Later Serena Williams explained, "I just started hitting every ball as hard as I could. And I think I lived off of her mistakes. Once she stopped making them, she was able to come back and win the match. I don't know how I was able to stay out there."

Williams also admitted that she felt discomfort as early as the first game of the first set, "I felt something in my stomach," she said, "and I thought it was just a stitch because I always get stitches a lot ... but it didn't go away. And then whenever I served or stretched that muscle, I felt pain."

Sharapova, excited by her win, enjoyed the thrill of having her trophy presented to her by the legendary Billie Jean King, credited by many for having started the WTA Tour in the early 1970s. The young Russian, who pocketed $1 million for the win, was startled during the ceremony by a spectator who rushed the court and jumped around behind executives and sponsors during the presentation. He was surrounded by security and rushed off the court.

Later, representatives of the WTA Tour, in an exclusive interview with On The Line Tennis Magazine, emphatically denied that the WTA Tour had any responsibility for the gaffe, explaining that security is entirely in the hands of the STAPLES Center's management. While it may be acknowledged that the incident may have brought back memories of the frightening 1993 attack of former #1 Monica Seles (stabbed in the back on-court by a spectator during a match on a WTA Tour stop in Hamburg, Germany), the WTA Tour staffers adamantly emphasized that they had been assured that at no time was anyone on this court in any danger.

The man, whom the WTA described as having an accent (possibly Russian), was apparently an overzealous fan of Maria Sharapova who ran on the court "for kicks". He was immediately escorted out of the area and the STAPLES Center authorities released him without pressing charges or detailed questioning as he promised to leave the arena without further incident.

In the excitement of the moment, Sharapova later made a point of addressing the media with a prepared statement apologizing for inadvertently forgetting to acknowledge her opponent, Serena Williams, during the presentation. "I want to say, in my speech, I forgot to thank Serena," Sharapova noted, "I think she has had an amazing week. And to be fighting in that third set was amazing. I am sorry I didn't mention her name in the speech."

Sharapova, who is looking forward to a vacation after such a memorable and challenging 2004, reflected back on the past 12 months saying, "I don't think I could have asked for anything better this year ... it has been an extraordinary year for me, " adding, "I have been through ups and downs in my life. And to achieve so much ... I don't think a lot of people still realize that am still seventeen."



Match 2, Doubles Final: Nadia Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy def. Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs 7-5, 6-2.

There is little doubt as to the many reasons why women's doubles has become so under-represented and displaced on the WTA Tour. Many of today's higher profile players do not enter the events and the WTA Tour frequently schedules these matches at awkward times and as filler or afterthoughts to the singles events. Indeed, there was no encouragement for the covering of women's doubles this week. While Tennis Channel did broadcast the finals, only 3 print reporters and 4 photographers stayed to witness the event. Not even former world #1 doubles champion Billie Jean King, who presented the singles trophy, bothered to stay around to encourage the competitors or enjoy the event.

Although the arena thinned out to about 1/2 capacity, those that remained were enthusiastic and enjoyed a competitive, if somewhat unfriendly match. After leading 5-2 in the first set, the team of Black and Stubbs collapsed in a sea of errors and Stubbs-induced tantrums.

Indeed, it would be unusual to witness any match involving Rennae Stubbs that didn't include such babyish, cranky behavior. As the lead slipped away and as Shaughnessy and Petrova began connecting on their opportunities, Stubbs increasingly lost patience; she stomped around, wailed at calls that weren't close, slammed balls, flung racquets and tried repeatedly to nail Nadia Petrova with overhead shots. Petrova maintained her cool (and even got a few well-aimed jabs back at Stubbs) and her poise further irritated Stubbs.

The feisty Australian, who was formerly part of the #1 ranked doubles team in the world with American Lisa Raymond, ultimately completely unraveled in the second set after suffering an embarrassing fall. While chasing down a beautifully placed lob from Petrova, Stubbs over-ran it, crashing straight into the advertisement boards, falling through the placards and breaking straight through as she landed on her back. Cara Black, her poised, yet mortified partner, had to help pull the flailing (yet uninjured) Stubbs out of the hole that she had inadvertently dug for herself.

The Russian-American team of Petrova/Shaughnessy finally put the Zimbabwean-Australian team of Black/Stubbs out of their misery by efficiently taking the title on their first championship point. As a delighted Shaughnessy gratefully thanked fans, sponsors and officials, Stubbs pouted and scowled while Black quietly stewed and looked for the nearest exit.

And thus, a very interesting, unexpected and unpredictable 2004 WTA Tour came to an end leaving all kinds of unanswered questions and intriguing possibilities for the 2005 tennis season.