There was just as much drama taking place in the run-up to Fed Cup as there was during the two semifinal ties of the women’s team competition.
First, an international sporting incident was only just avoided when Russia’s captain, Shamil Tarpishchev, was finally granted a United States visa so he could accompany his team to the semifinal tie in Vermont against the Americans. But that was only after Tarpishchev made a slew of criticisms about the issue, including addressing the International Tennis Federation and requesting that the tie be moved to a neutral country.
The visa, which was originally declined for undisclosed reasons (Tarpishchev believes that the US has linked him to the Russian mafia, a claim he adamantly denies), was finally approved at the 11th hour—actually 4 a.m. Moscow time last Thursday.
Once the presence of the captains had been secured, the two biggest draws of the event went missing – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who both cited injury.
While both women’s injuries had been well-documented and their withdrawals were half-expected, neither made the trip down to Vermont to attend the tie – quite unlike Aussie Sam Stosur, who was also unable to play but cheered her teammates on from the bench during their zonal tie against Ukraine. Serena and Sharapova spent part of the weekend attending the ESPYs, where Sharapova scooped up two awards.
Sharapova then bookended the week with an appearance at NFL quarterback Matt Leinart’s charity event in Los Angeles, where Andy Roddick was also a guest.
While Serena did not face much criticism for her withdrawal, Sharapova’s created more controversy. While she has joined the United Nations as a Goodwill Ambassador, taking special interest in helping victims of Chernobyl, and publicly supported Sochi’s bit for the 2012 Olympics, backing out of yet another Fed Cup tie did nothing to help her already strained relations with some Russians who question her patriotism.
Citing a shoulder injury, which has plagued her since the Australian Open and has required cortisone injections, the current US Open champion and Russian No. 1 withdrew from Fed Cup after receiving advice from her medical team, who informed her that the shoulder had become swollen.
Sharapova’s decision, however, did not come as a surprise to some, namely chief Russian tennis coach, Vladimir Kamelzon, who told Russian daily newspaper, Izvestia, "I'm telling you, just forget about all these promises."
Anna Dmitrieva, a former national champion who now commentates for NTV network, told Reuters, “Well, she never intended to play in the first place.
"All she wanted was to be included in the Fed Cup team so she would be eligible to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
Sharapova defended herself in her weekly diary on her official website: “I assume that I am currently getting spanked from everyone about my withdrawal at fed cup (what else is new!!). But I'm not going to waste time defending myself as if I'm not playing because I've got Hollywood meetings to attend instead. Let's be clear on this...if there's a chance for me to be 100% healthy by the US Open that would not include playing Fed Cup this week because a smart person would assume that a break is necessary after playing tournaments for 7 weeks. But wait, I'm still the bad person.....goooo figure!!”
Earlier, the 20-year-old Russian had drawn some backlash from her fans Stateside after her website entry explaining her absence. “I know this withdrawal is very frustrating for all my Russian fans, but I promise you it is way more frustrating for me,” Sharapova said. “Nothing would (have) made me happier than beating the Americans on American soil.''
The comment drew pointed observations that Sharapova has two homes in the United States and has lived in the country since she was nine – more years than she’s spent in her native Russia.
Meanwhile, she’s still slated to play World Team Tennis later this month for the Newport Beach Breakers.