Foot Fault!

The ‘Cow On Ice Watch’, AKA the most highly-anticipated period of each and every tennis year kicked off today as Maria Sharapova, the most successful active claycourt player in the world, moved into the second round of Madrid with a 2-6 6-3 6-2.

It was a typically rough start for the Queen (OC), but to her credit, she recovered and seemingly eased into the second round without too many problems after the initial hiccup. The main thing is that she got that big ‘W’; after all, we can’t expect her to just ease back into her old majestic self - serving and volleying like old and hitting stunning dropshots from every part of the court. Even for someone as natually gifted as Sharapova is on the red stuff, it takes a lot more practice and matchplay than that. And I’m sure she’s saving all the fancy stuff for when she graces our TV screens with her majestic presence.

But if one thing is for for sure, it’s that it will come, so buckle up, kids.