Some statistics can be misleading but when you’ve just won your 600th match, it is pretty clear that you have had a stellar career.
Maria Sharapova reached that milestone on Friday with a hard-fought 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0 win over American Lauren Davis, a match that encapsulated her almost unrivalled ability to shut out disappointment and turn it into success.
The Russian, five times a Grand Slam champion and a former world No.1, seemed surprised when told she had racked up win No.600, a mark only 16 women in history have managed.
“Oh, wow, I’ve won 600 matches?” she said with surprise. “Oh boy. Is this like a friendly reminder that I’m getting older? Might be?”
At 28, Sharapova is hardly old, her tennis still strong and her competitive instinct firmly intact, although her memory is a little shakier, unable to recall correctly the identity of the first opponent she beat (No.288-ranked American Teryn Ashley, in three sets at an ITF event in Columbus in February 2002).
When you’ve won 600 matches, some of them must merge into one but while Sharapova plans to play on for “many years”, when she does call time on her career it will be one of enormous highs, incredible fortitude and a never-say-die attitude which, if she could bottle it, would add to her millions.
The world’s highest-earning female athlete, Sharapova has won almost $37 million in prize money but that is dwarfed by her off-court earnings.
Entrepreneur, shoe designer, owner of a premium candy line in Sugarpova and a woman who has adorned countless magazine covers, Sharapova has become one of the world’s most recognisable brands while remaining at or close to the top of the game.
A Wimbledon champion at 17, US Open winner at 19, Australian Open champion at 20 and then four years later, having described herself playing on clay as “a cow on ice”, she won the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
In 2014, she won a second French Open title for her fifth major crown and she owns 35 career titles.
But Sharapova will never forget her roots, particularly the sacrifices her mother and father made to get her to this point, her father accompanying her to Florida as a seven-year-old, with her mother unable to get to America for two years.
That absence helped to build Sharapova’s inner strength, something that has been integral to her success on the court.
“My father paved this career for me that I just keep following,” Sharapova said. “He just really opened the door to my dream (and) I'm just kind of living it.
“My mother opened up the world to me culturally, educationally. So I got very different things from both of them."
As to the future, it begins with a fourth-round clash here against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Sharapova said she intends to stick around for a long time yet.
“When I was probably 18, 19 years old, I mean, first of all, I never thought that I'd miss a year when I'm 21 and thought that I was at the peak of my career, thought I was playing some of my best tennis,” she said. “That was kind of a big hurdle, a big question mark.
“I never thought that I'd be playing at this age, honestly. (When ) I was born, my mother was very young. I thought I would, not have kids at 20, but I would have children at this point.
“(But) at 28 years old, I'm healthy and look forward to playing for many years.
"I really love what I do. Although I'd love to sit on the beach and read a book and drink margaritas, after a few days I get bored.
“I know, especially when I miss a couple of weeks, the feeling of hitting the ball, when that comes back to me, I'm like: this is what I love to do. There's no better feeling.”
source:http://www.ausopen.com/
Maria Sharapova reached that milestone on Friday with a hard-fought 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0 win over American Lauren Davis, a match that encapsulated her almost unrivalled ability to shut out disappointment and turn it into success.
The Russian, five times a Grand Slam champion and a former world No.1, seemed surprised when told she had racked up win No.600, a mark only 16 women in history have managed.
“Oh, wow, I’ve won 600 matches?” she said with surprise. “Oh boy. Is this like a friendly reminder that I’m getting older? Might be?”
At 28, Sharapova is hardly old, her tennis still strong and her competitive instinct firmly intact, although her memory is a little shakier, unable to recall correctly the identity of the first opponent she beat (No.288-ranked American Teryn Ashley, in three sets at an ITF event in Columbus in February 2002).
When you’ve won 600 matches, some of them must merge into one but while Sharapova plans to play on for “many years”, when she does call time on her career it will be one of enormous highs, incredible fortitude and a never-say-die attitude which, if she could bottle it, would add to her millions.
The world’s highest-earning female athlete, Sharapova has won almost $37 million in prize money but that is dwarfed by her off-court earnings.
Entrepreneur, shoe designer, owner of a premium candy line in Sugarpova and a woman who has adorned countless magazine covers, Sharapova has become one of the world’s most recognisable brands while remaining at or close to the top of the game.
A Wimbledon champion at 17, US Open winner at 19, Australian Open champion at 20 and then four years later, having described herself playing on clay as “a cow on ice”, she won the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
In 2014, she won a second French Open title for her fifth major crown and she owns 35 career titles.
But Sharapova will never forget her roots, particularly the sacrifices her mother and father made to get her to this point, her father accompanying her to Florida as a seven-year-old, with her mother unable to get to America for two years.
That absence helped to build Sharapova’s inner strength, something that has been integral to her success on the court.
“My father paved this career for me that I just keep following,” Sharapova said. “He just really opened the door to my dream (and) I'm just kind of living it.
“My mother opened up the world to me culturally, educationally. So I got very different things from both of them."
As to the future, it begins with a fourth-round clash here against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Sharapova said she intends to stick around for a long time yet.
“When I was probably 18, 19 years old, I mean, first of all, I never thought that I'd miss a year when I'm 21 and thought that I was at the peak of my career, thought I was playing some of my best tennis,” she said. “That was kind of a big hurdle, a big question mark.
“I never thought that I'd be playing at this age, honestly. (When ) I was born, my mother was very young. I thought I would, not have kids at 20, but I would have children at this point.
“(But) at 28 years old, I'm healthy and look forward to playing for many years.
"I really love what I do. Although I'd love to sit on the beach and read a book and drink margaritas, after a few days I get bored.
“I know, especially when I miss a couple of weeks, the feeling of hitting the ball, when that comes back to me, I'm like: this is what I love to do. There's no better feeling.”
source:http://www.ausopen.com/
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