Scream Queen beats Seles
Maria Sharapova soared into the record books today with the loudest grunt in tennis.
The Russian teenager dubbed "The Queen of Scream" emitted of shrieks of nearly 94 decibels at the DFS Classic today - louder than a lawnmower.
The Evening Standard took a decibel meter to the tournament to find out if the new tennis sensation really deserved her noisy reputation. And after a decade of silence on the grass courts, the 16-year-old's grunts beat Monica Seles's previous record of 93.2 decibels, recorded in 1992.
Sharapova's ear-shattering noise came at the end of a match at the pre-Wimbledon tournament in Edgbaston in which she had been uncharacteristically quiet.
Yesterday she was told to "keep the noise down" by a WTA official after her opponent complained about Sharapova's grunts.
Sharapova seemed to have heeded those warnings today, and kept quiet for the majority of the match against Swiss 19-year-old Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian. She made a few noises during the third-round match, but they were more of a feminine whine than yesterday's guttural grunts.
But by the final game her self-control was weaker than her ball control and her grunts reached a mighty crescendo at over 90 decibels.
Centre Court at Edgbaston's Priory Club was packed with spectators hoping to hear the teenager at her worst - yesterday she could be heard four courts away.
Until her final few games, the highest reading caught on our precision machine was a 74.2 decibel yelp when she lost her first point in the first game, the same level as the applause from the crowd when she later won it.
Despite the lack of noise control, Sharapova has shown a huge amount of talent. She has been dubbed the " new Kournikova" but unlike her compatriot, who has never won a major singles tournament, Sharapova is tipped for the top.
Today she was on startlingly good form, winning the match 6-0, 7-5 against Mikaelian, who is ranked 34th in the world.
Despite her youth, it seems that Sharapova - who didn't see her mother for two years while she was training - has the stamina, determination and vocal chords to win.
