Tennis/ US Open Championships: For the past fortnight just about everybody here has been humming Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story song I Feel Pretty, Nike having hijacked it for a television advertisement to promote both its brand and Maria Sharapova.

Sometimes, since she won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004, it has seemed that the US-based Russian was more about branding and less about substance, but there was no denying the maturity of Saturday night's 6-4, 6-4 victory over Justine Henin-Hardenne in the women's US Open final.

There was even a little variety as the teenager, a powerhouse of screaming groundstrokes, ventured with success towards the net. Women's tennis has produced a succession of extraordinary hitters over the past decade, with Venus and Serena Williams leading the way, but it has come at the expense of creativity and touch.

Henin, and France's Amelie Mauresmo, beaten in the semi-finals by Sharapova, have displayed a greater variety and adventure than most, but for the most part, as in the men's game, tennis is locked into long rallies of teeth-grinding intensity.

The men, of course, have Roger Federer, whose gliding fluency is a constant reminder that hitting the ball hard can still approach an art form when there is a racket in the hands of a genius.

The women have no such player, but it is possible that Sharapova may develop into something more than the robotic pummeller of the ball that has characterised her play. Against Henin there were signs of a more complete player emerging.

The final weekend was not without its controversies, centring on the off-court signals emanating from her father, Yuri, and her hitting partner, Michael Joyce. After losing the second set against Mauresmo the signal went out that she should take a bathroom break. The two men have also, during a tournament, indicated that she should take a drink or eat a banana.

Sharapova was asked about it after the final and became more than a little annoyed at the curve of the questioning.

"My career right now is about winning a tennis match. I'm sitting here as the US Open champion and the last thing people want to worry about is a banana."

But there were hand signals, too, which she chose not to talk about at all.

The WTA Tour recently experimented with courtside coaching at tournaments. It remains illegal, even if many coaches, both on the men's and the women's side, pay lip service to the rules.

The ATP and the WTA are too gutless to do anything about it, and the umpires almost totally abnegate any responsibility for enforcement.

The puppet-like routine between Sharapova and her entourage was superficially amusing but it reflected poorly on the game, and the ITF, the ruling body of tennis, might do well to issue a few quiet warnings at the slams.

Mauresmo, who has won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year, remains at number one, with Henin and Sharapova behind her, but judging from this performance it is only a matter of time before the passport-Russian regains the top spot she attained briefly last year.

"To win your second slam is like the cherry on the cake, but there are a lot more cherries that I'm going to put on that cake, so I'm looking forward to having them," Sharapova said.

There were no excuses from Henin, who has five slam titles and reached all four of this year's major finals but won only the one at Roland Garros: "Maria was more brave than me and that made a big difference."

At the beginning of the match, when she opened a 2-0 lead, Henin looked as if she might make her greater experience a telling factor but thereafter Sharapova was in control. Hers was the higher-risk game and her shots sped into the corner or hit the lines with almost unerring accuracy. And it was a wonderful conclusion for Sharapova, although as she lifted the US Open trophy for the first time the lid fell on to the floor.

"I thought, typical Maria," she said. "There's always something that's going to happen."

But for some the banana routine was one slip too many.

• Martina Navratilova put a crowning gloss on her career by teaming up with Bob Bryan to win the Open mixed doubles final on Saturday. Navratilova, in her last tournament, and fellow American Bryan beat Czechs Kveta Peschke and Martin Damm 6-2, 6-3. It was a fitting way for Navratilova, who turns 50 next month, to hang up her racquet, her 59th grand slam title adding to a remarkable record that began in 1975.

• Guardian Service