After Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova sets her sight on Wimbledon
Maria Sharapova was one of the best female tennis player on the fast courts until a shoulder injury prompted her to undergo surgery in 2008.
The Russian had three Grand Slam singles titles (2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open, and 2008 Australian Open) and following Justine Henin's retirement, became the top-ranked player on the WTA Tour. Players who have great results in carpet, grass, and hard don't attempt to be good in clay. Pete Sampras, the best of his generation, is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, an all-time time record. But he is winless at Stade Roland Garros, venue of the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament being played on clay. (Forest Hills, once the venue for the US Open, the final major event of the year, was played on green clay from 1975 to 1977.) Sharapova also struggled, but the surgery changed everything. Her serve, once fearsome, became inconsistent. But her killer instinct is still there, her competitiveness didn't wane. She only need to train harder.
"I don't think I would form a new team together and that I would go through the efforts of trying to come back if I didn't have it," she said late last year. "It's a lot of work, a lot of work, and I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't feel strongly about what my goals are and what I feel I can accomplish."
In 2012, Sharapova beat Italy's Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-2, in the finals of the French Open. It was her fourth Grand Slam title, also her greatest victory in the big event. By winning the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for the first time, she became the tenth female player to achieve a career Grand Slam, a feat achieved by winning each of the four major tennis events. Then she had another shoulder injury. She was 26, considered a veteran in the game. The surgery could have affected her, but Sharapova, who grew up in Sochi, was not known for throwing in the towel.
The 2014 French Open, which played from May 25 to June 8, turned out to be unpredictable during its first week. Defending champion Serena Williams, Australian Open winner Li Na, and Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska failed to reach the fourth round, making it the first time in the Open Era that the top three seeds were all out before the round of 16. This gave Sharapova a chance, as she was supposed to meet Williams in the quarterfinals. But she didn't have an easy passage to the finals, winning the last three rounds in three sets. On the other side of the bracket, Romania's Simona Halep was cruising. Managed by Virginia Ruzici, the 1978 champion, the 22-yeard old didn't lose a set. She was the most-improved player in the WTA Tour last year, winning six titles. She was the slight favorite heading into the finals, but Sharapova's experience came in handy. She won her second French Open title, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, never expecting to be triumphant in Stade Roland Garros again.
"If somebody had told me that I'd win at some stage in my career, that I'd have more Roland Garros titles than any other Grand Slam, I'd probably go get drunk," she said Saturday. "Or tell them to get drunk, one or the other."
She hardly has time for celebration, as the Wimbledon Championships commences next week.
"That's how I go into a Grand Slam. I don't think that I've won it before, because when you have the mentality that you've won it, then it gets boring. You have to go out there hungry and want to compete for more," she said.
