The (Long Overdue) Maria Sharapova Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Sharapova appeared in her first WTA event when she was granted a wild card into the main draw of Indian Wells in 2002. She reached the 2nd Round before losing to...

a. Monica Seles
b. Martina Hingis
c. Kim Clijsters
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2. In 2003, 16-year old Sharapova won her first WTA singles title. Where did she do it?

a. Tokyo, Japan
b. Sydney, Australia
c. Warsaw, Poland
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3. Who did she defeat in the final?

a. Jelena Kostanic
b. Aniko Kapros
c. Lina Krasnoroutskaya
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4. In the SF of Indian Wells in 2005, Lindsay Davenport defeated Sharapova 6-0/6-0. How long did the match last?

a. 29 minutes
b. 49 minutes
c. 59 minutes
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5. Sharapova defeated Serena Williams in the final of the 2004 WTA Championships in Los Angeles, 4-6/6-2/6-4. From what deficit did she stage her comeback in the 3rd set?

a. 3-0
b. 4-1
c. 4-0
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6. Sharapova reached the junior finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002, losing both matches. From the following sets of pairs, pick the two correct players who defeated her.

1... Vera Dushevina or Vera Zvonareva?
2... Daja Bedanova or Barbora Strycova?
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7. Sharapova won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2004, a year after she'd recorded her first grand slam main draw singles match victory in the 1st Round there. Who did she defeat in that 2003 match?

a. Ashley Harkleroad
b. Ainsley Cargill
c. Alexandra Stevenson
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8. For how many weeks did Sharapova hold the #1 singles ranking in 2005?

a. 1
b. 7
c. 14
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9. Sharapova won in her first six appearances in WTA singles finals from 2003-04. Her first loss in a final came in Zurich in October '04. Who beat her?

a. Elena Dementieva
b. Anna Smashnova
c. Alicia Molik
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10. Of the sixteen other Russians ranked in the WTA singles Top 100 (as of September 25, 2006), Sharapova has played twelve of them during her pro career. She has a winning record against all but two. Who are they?

a. Kuznetsova & Myskina
b. Safina & Dementieva
c. Myskina & Zvonareva
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>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. a. Monica Seles
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2. a. Sharapova's first title came when she swept both the singles and doubles crowns at the Japan Open in Tokyo in October '03.
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3. b. Aniko Kapros, 2-6/6-2/7-6(5)
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4. b. 49 minutes
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5. c. With Williams injured and firing away winners from the baseline, Sharapova fell behind 4-0 in the 3rd set before winning the final six games of the match to take the title.
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6. (2 pts. for each of two correct answers) 1...Dushevina won the '02 Wimbledon junior final; 2...Strycova won the Australian Open junior final in '02.
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7. a. Ashley Harkleroad
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8. b. 7 weeks, beginning in August '05. She was the first Russian woman to be ranked #1. She finished the season at #4.
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9. c. Molik won, 4-6/6-2/6-3
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10. a. Kuznetsova & Myskina, the only other Russians besides Sharapova to win slam singles titles, both currently hold 3-2 advantages over her in career meetings.
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>>>THE SCORING<<<

15-22 - You Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty
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11-14 - You're Making Nearly Every Shot a Power Shot
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7-10 - Don't Choke on that Banana Yuri Told You to Eat
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0-6 - No Cell Phone Reception Here
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All for now.

The Federer/Nadal Quiz

>>>THE QUESTIONS<<<

1. Of the eight Federer/Nadal match-ups, how many of them DID NOT occur in a tournament final?

a. 0 - all of them have been in finals
b. 2
c. 4
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2. Nadal currently has a record 60-match winning streak on clay. Who was the last player to defeat him on the surface?

a. Igor Andreev
b. Roger Federer
c. Carlos Moya
d. Alberto Martin
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3. Federer currently has a record 48-match winning streak on grass. Who was the last player to defeat him on the surface?

a. Mark Philippoussis
b. Mario Ancic
c. David Nalbandian
d. Andre Agassi
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4. Nadal won Roland Garros in 2005 as a 19-year old. Before him, who was the last teenaged male to win a slam singles title?

a. Andy Roddick
b. Juan Carlos Ferrero
c. Andre Agassi
d. Pete Sampras
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5. True/False. Roger Federer has won a Hopman Cup title for Switzerland, with Martina Hingis as his teammate.
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6. Nadal only played one junior slam event - Wimbledon in 2002. What was his singles result?

a. he lost in the 1st Round
b. he reached the SF
c. he was runner-up
d. he was the champion
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7. Federer is one of only four players to win both the Wimbledon Juniors and Men's title. Who are the other three?

a. Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker
b. Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg
c. Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic
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8. Federer has never won an Olympic medal in singles, failing to do so in Sydney '00 (2nd Round) and Athens '04 (losing the Bronze Medal Match). From the list below, pick the three players who defeated him in Olympic competition:

Tim Henman
Arnaud Di Pasquale
Lleyton Hewitt
Tomas Berdych
Tommy Haas
Nicolas Lapentti
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9. Federer has been ranked #1 for 128 consecutive weeks (as of July 17). He's the fourth ATP player to hold the top-ranked position for over 100 straight weeks. Who were the other three?

a. Connors, Lendl, Sampras
b. McEnroe, Lendl, Sampras
c. Connors, McEnroe, Sampras
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10. There have been ten tie-break sets in the Federer/Nadal series. Who holds the edge? (Bonus: By what margin?)
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BONUS: Federer's record run of consecutive victories in singles finals reached what number -- 16, 20, 24 or 28? Who ended his streak in 2005?
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>>>THE ANSWERS (2 pts each unless noted)<<<

1. b. Two of the eight meetings came before tournament finals: 2004 Miami (3rd Round) and 2005 Roland Garros (SF). Nadal won both matches.
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2. a. Igor Andreev, in the Valencia QF in May 2005.
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3. b. Mario Ancic, in the 1st Round of Wimbledon 2002.
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4. d. Sampras, 19, at the U.S. Open in 1990.
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5. True. Federer/Hingis won the Hopman Cup in January 2001.
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6. b. Nadal reached the 2002 Wimbledon juniors SF.
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7. b. Borg, Cash, Edberg and Federer are the only Junior and Men's title winners at Wimbledon.
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8. (2 pts each for one or two correct; 7 points for all three) Brdych defeated Federer in the 2nd Round in Sydney, while he lost to Haas in the Athens SF before also losing to Di Pasquale in the Bronze Medal Match.
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9. a. Connors (160 weeks), Lendl (157) and Sampras (102).
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10.(2 pts. for one correct; 5 pts. if both correct) Nadal has won the majority of the tie-breaks in his series against Federer, by a 6-4 margin.
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BONUS: (2 pts. if get one answer correct; 5 pts if both correct) Federer's streak reached 24 before losing to David Nalbandian in the 2005 Masters Cup final.
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>>>THE SCORING<<<

23-33 - RogerRafaSlam
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14-24 - Guillermo Vilas, after Nadal
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5-13 - Andy Roddick, after Federer
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0-4 - The rest of the ATP field, after Federer/Nadal
-----------------------------


All for now.