The Body in Question

After her family and friends, the next person in the queue to congratulate Kim Clijsters on winning the US Open was probably Elena Dementieva, the woman who most people believe should by rights have been her opponent.

But Elena’s dreams of a second successive singles final at Flushing Meadows were dashed by Mary Pierce and the frostiness of the post-match handshake told us everything we needed to know about the Russian’s attitude to the manner in which that victory had been achieved.

It was no surprise when Dementieva took the first set 6-3. Never the most fleet footed of players, Pierce looked ponderous and for all their power many of her shots were erratic. Now 30, the woman known in her heyday as The Body was in trouble and already the match was slipping away. Something needed to be done.

She called for the trainer and what followed went on for so long it almost defied belief. Far from being a quick check-up and a spot of first aid, this episode began to take on the characteristics of an MOT and a 30,000 mile service. And after the right thigh and the lower back had duly received attention, one wondered what would be next. Colour co-ordinated tapes perhaps, a pedicure or a bit of extra make-up.

When play eventually resumed, two things were apparent and between them they decided the match. Elena Dementieva had lost both her rhythm and her patience, while by contrast The Body had been reinvigorated, revitalised and rejuvenated. Miraculously, her injuries simply melted away and, never short of a bit of boeuf, she sprayed shots all over the place, strutting around between points and indulging in much fist clenching and chest thumping.

It is perhaps unfortunate that, possibly through no fault of her own, Mary Pierce has always tended to strut about the court like someone who is trying without much success to disregard a particularly noxious smell under her nose. Smell or no smell, what Mary did to win that semi-final certainly leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.