Queen Maria back on her throne after injury battle
It was no coincidence on Thursday that when it became certain that
Maria Sharapova was back as world number one, there was general
satisfaction within the WTA and in women's tennis in general.
The Russian is unmistakenly the sport's glamour girl, it's biggest
draw and, in a hugely competitive market a valuable motor and spearhead
for all concerned.
More than that, she is the most recognisable sportswoman in the world
and the biggest earner, rivalling even the big boys in male sport.
How she got there has been well documented over the years - from her
humble beginnings in the small Siberian town of Nyagan to the Nick
Bollettieri tennis academy courts in Florida.
Leaving her mother behind in Russia at the age of nine and travelling
and living on the cheap with father Yuri before making her tournament
debut in 2001 in an ITF event in Sarasota.
Sharapova has not forgotten those years and her roots back in
Siberia.
"I'm really happy and proud of where I came from and where I was born
and how it's fun to hear when they introduce me, they don't say just
born in Russia, they actually say I was born in Nyagan, Siberia," she
said earlier in the tournament at Roland Garros.
"Every time they say that, you can hear the crowd going, Whoa. Like I
don't think people actually realize that's where I was born.
"When they say it, I always feel so proud, no matter - like when they
even say I've won the Grand Slams or been number one. When they say
that, I get goosebumps, because I'm so proud coming from there and
getting to the position I am today." Sharapova has always been
precocious and it was at Wimbledon in 2004 as a 17-year-old that she
took the tennis world by storm, and by shrieks, as she powered her way
into the final and proceeded to blast her way past Serena Williams, then
the dominant force in the game, for her first Grand Slam title.
A star was born from that moment on as the world became aware of the
tall, beautiful blonde with a steely determination and a thunderous
forehand Sharapova immediately became an ad man's dream and her face and
silhouette have since adorned many products from perfumes to clothes.
It was not quite so simple on the court.
In an age when the Williams sisters and Belgian pair Justine Henin
and Kim Clijsters made it highly competitive at the top end of women's
tennis, Sharapova held her own in the top five, winning her second Grand
Slam title at the 2006 US Open.
She became world number one for the second time after losing to
Serena Williams in the Australian Open final of 2007, a tournament she
won the following year for her third Grand Slam title.
All seemed set for her to dominate, but that was when a serious right
shoulder injury struck and nearly wrecked her career.
What followed was a 10-month long battle to recover, not knowing
whether she would ever play competitively again.
Bit by bit she put things back together, shortening her service
action to avoid the injury and the pain returning.
It was then that she began to cherish another ambition - to win the
French Open title, complete a career Grand Slam and prove wrong all
those who said that with her flat-hitting and suspect movement on clay,
that she had no chance of winning on the surface.
PARISJune 9, 2012 |