Today Maria Sharapova won her 2nd French Open in the last three years (she lost in the Final last year). She won her 5th career Grand Slam. This was the 40th Grand Slam played since she stormed onto teh scene winning Wimbledon in 2004. Back then she was just 17 and knocked off an in-her-absolute-physical-prime Serena Williams in straight sets. She was extremely young, but extremely good. She was poised to be the next big thing in tennis. It didn't hurt that was a tall, beautiful, blonde girl from Russia. She was anointed that day.
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| Where it all started, winning the '04 Wimbledon at 17 |
40 slams later, Sharapova has, stunningly a little under-the-radar, pretty much fullfilled the promise she showed that day at Wimbledon. She's changed her game, changed her attitude, changed her preparation, and given her awesome results on clay the last few years, changed her favored service. She did all that, added four more majors, won the career slam, and somehow never really got the credit she deserved. We may think she should have done more, but she's done a whole lot, and more than anything, she was a true tennis player.
When she burst onto the scene the comparisons to Anna Kournikova were immediate, but also very complimentary. She was thought of as everything Kournikova wasn't, someone committed to tennis, with a bunch of prodigous skill. She accomplished at 17 something Anna famously never did, win a major. She kept to those standards for the first four years of her career. Competing with a prime Serena Williams, a still great Venus Williams, and both the primes of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, from Wimbledon 2004 through the 2008 Australian Open, a period of 15 majors, she won three slams, made another final, and made the semis 6 other times. She truly was Anna Kournikova with far more talent. Then injury struck.
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| Cementing her early legacy, winning the 2008 Australian Open |
After winning that 2008 Australian Open, Sharapova started on a three year drought that included three different bouts with shoulder injuries, and just one trip past the Round of 16 at any majors. This was a lean time in Women's Tennis as well, and Sharapova did nothing. Suddenly, the Kournikova comparisons came back: was Maria tired of tennis? Did she care more about modeling? Was she too concerned with off the court ambitions? A lot of her poor results were explained by that balky shoulder, but maybe she wasn't long for the tennis world.
Women's tennis, especially since 2000, is a strange world where people come and go all the time. Justin Henin and Kim Clisjters retired, then unretired, then retired again. Younger players like Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva were great players one year and gone two years later (Ivanovic has returned to Top-20 status consistently it should be noted). Sharapova straying away from tennis was an easy storyline to write because it seemed possible. All the elements were there. Here was this woman who was essentially perfect to market outside tennis. She was a tall, beautiful blonde, who spoke excellent English, who was a Champion athlete. She was a marketers dream. It was easy for her to stray away from tennis after battling injury and already accomplishing a lot. Problem was Maria cared more about tennis than anyone gave her credit.
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| The Nadir of her career, a shocking 6-2 6-1 loss in the 1st round of '10 Australian Open |
Off the court, Maria Sharapova seems the furthest thing from a fighter, a tennis lifer, as any Champion tennis player could be. But if you just watch her on the court, the evidence is all there. Start with one of the most controversial aspects of Maria's game, her loud grunt after every stroke. It started as a joke, than a point of issue, but beyond the ridiculous volume lies the energy she expends on each shot. When Rafa or Novak do the same thing (admittedly, not as loudly and distracting) people agree it is because how much they give on each shot. For Maria it is the same, the most outward example of how much she loves competition and the sport.
Her father gave up everything in Russia to bring her to the US when Maria was 9 to train in Florida. He worked scores of bad, low-paying jobs so Maria could train for years before being accepted into the IMG academy. Maria has that same work ethic, and it showed. Through the battles with shoulder injuries. Through the years of falling short in majors early way too often. Through the years of modeling agencies and outward interests trying to drag her away, she stayed committed. She stayed in the game, working on getting better. Realizing she couldn't pound her way to wins, she became even more fit, a better defensive player, a better counterpuncher. She changed the way she played, and the results have been amazing.
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| The Ultimate Redemption, winning the Career Slam at the '12 French Open |
Her career almost reads like Kurt Warner's, a fast start with three major wins and loads of deep runs in majors from her age 17 season to age 21 season. Then, like Warner in New York and early in Arizona, Maria went through her down period. Finally, like Warner from 2007-2009, Maria fought back. Starting from teh 2011 French Open, over the next 17 majors, she's won two more, reached three other finals, and three other semifinals. She's remained interested in her off the court avenues, as she remains one of the msot marketable women athletes in teh world, but I hope she is finally getting the recognition she deserves as a tennis player.
Obviously, the model for any up and coming tennis player, the best case scenario, would be Serena, someone so gifted they can fly through the sport winning majors in buckets. But that is really unattainable, in teh same way being the next Federer or Nadal is. No, the real model should be Maria Sharapova. She's had a Hall of Fame career by staying in the sport. She didn't take the easy way out. She wasn't flighty and not dedicated enough. She didn't burn out too quickly as so many women tennis players have, sadly, done. No, she fought through everything. She's a Champion five times over. Her personality may resemble the beautiful woman she is, but her career resembles the grunter who scrambles and plays defense but still hits through the court. And the tennis world has been better off for it.
