Pretty? Pretty tough!

Eventually, the top seed went out fighting, having given the spectators a glimpse of her talent in an epic encounter with Kim Clijsters. Mar...

Eventually, the top seed went out fighting, having given the spectators a glimpse of her talent in an epic encounter with Kim Clijsters. Maria Sharapova lost 2-6, 7-6, 3-6 after saving five match points in the second set.

Later, she said she was exhausted by her fight-back to force a third set and must improve her physical conditioning to reach her tennis peak.

8216;8216;I kind of gave it all I had in the tie-breaker8217;8217;, she said. 8216;8216;Then the third, I kind of ran out of gas. At that point it8217;s pretty tough because physically I still have to get a lot better and I have to play these three-setters. The points are going to go on and on and on. 8216;8216;This is not something that8217;s going to happen overnight. I8217;m only 18 and this is going to take time. My body is still growing and I8217;m still adjusting to my own body.8217;8217;

Sharapova, who exploded on the tennis scene with her 2004 Wimbledon victory at age 17, will reassume the number one ranking after the Open. Still, she recognises the need to get fitter. 8216;8216;When the points started getting longer and longer, I felt that she had the advantage8217;8217;, Sharapova said of fourth-seeded Belgian Clijsters, 22.

8216;8216;She was able to execute them well. I did have opportunities, going into the net, and she came up with great shots.8217;8217; Sharapova said her best is yet to come. 8216;8216;When the time comes, the time8217;s right, then it will happen. It takes a lot of work and I8217;m willing to go back on the practice court and in the gym, whatever I need to do, and work hard to win the grand slams.8217;8217;

What she showed today was an ability to save her best for the big points. Serving to save the match at 5-6 in the second set, Sharapova fell behind 0-40, handing Clijsters triple match point with a double fault. She saved the first by punctuating a punishing rally with a drop-shot winner, then launched a backhand cross-court winner on the next. An unreturnable serve brought the game to deuce, then Clijsters gave herself another chance with a forehand winner. Another winning serve kept Sharapova in it, then a double fault gave Clijsters one more match point, on which Sharapova came up with an ace.

8216;8216;It was tough8217;8217;, Clijsters said of the missed opportunities. 8216;8216;I think I gave everything I had on those match points, and she just came up with better points.8217;8217;

BIG APPLE BYTES

	nbsp;	FOURTH TIME LUCKY American twins Mike and Bob Bryan got lucky for the fourth time in front of their home crowd having lost in the men8217;s doubles finals at the previous three Slams this year. The Bryans despatched the top seeded team of Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in straight sets, thereby realising their childhood dream of an American Grand Slam triumph. FAMILY AFFAIR The Seguso family had a busy outing at Flushing Meadows, with mother Carling, father Robert, and son Holden each in action yesterday. The 69th ranked 17-year-old Holden got things started with a third round boys singles match in the early afternoon, followed by mother, Carling Bassett-Seguso playing her women8217;s masters doubles match. Bassett-Seguso had her best Grand Slam results here at the Open making the semis in 1984. Former world No. 1 doubles player Robert rounded things out at the illustrious Arthur Ashe Stadium with his men8217;s 35 masters doubles match. Seguso won four Grand Slam men8217;s doubles titles in his career and the coveted gold at the 1988 Olympics partnering Ken Flach. ACE COUNT Mary Pierce and Maria Sharapova hit four aces each in their semi-final matches, but while the Russian left the court in tears, Pierce became the first woman from her country to make the finals at the US Open. The Frenchwoman now leads the ace count along with Nadia Petrova at 22. Fastest Serve of the Day: Kim Clijsters, 116mph. Quote Unquote She8217;s a great athlete. That8217;s a big plus in tennis. When the points started getting longer and longer, I felt that she had the advantage. She was able to execute them well. Yes, I did have opportunities, and going into the net, and she came up with great shots. 8212;Maria Sharapova on Kim Clijsters. 8212; Anupama Bagris	nbsp;