June 22, 2011
WIMBLEDON, England -- You can't often say that Maria Sharapova isn't getting enough attention. Winning Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 2004 landed her on the cover of Sports Illustrated, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had to win multiple majors and play one of the greatest matches of all time before receiving the same real estate.
But the former champ has been largely overshadowed these past few days by the return of the Williams sisters, particularly Serena, who is in the same half of the draw. The sight of Serena has sobbing with happiness after winning her first-round match garnered much of the attention so far, signifying the end of a disastrous year that involved two surgeries for cuts on her feet, blood clots in her lung that required an emergency trip to the hospital and more surgery to treat related bleeding under the skin of her abdomen.
Sharapova's comeback story is not quite as dramatic, just a long and winding road back from shoulder surgery. Her good form during the culmination of the clay-court season continued on the grass when she produced a decisive opening win over Anna Chakvetadze on Tuesday. It was a stronger statement than Serena's up-and-down three-set win, though there's still a long way to go before their potential clash in the semifinals.
And though Sharapova's win wasn't as emotional as Serena's, going on to take the Wimbledon title would also have plenty of symbolic significance for her.
"I've said it since I came back from my injury, that if I could win another Grand Slam, it would mean more than the previous ones that I have," Sharapova said coming into the tournament. "You basically start from zero. You know, you try to get yourself to a level where you can compete with the top players, beating them day in, day out. Yeah, it's a long process.
"If I do achieve that, if it's here -- if it's somewhere else -- I think it would be my biggest achievement in my career."
This is her best chance so far. Grass suits the Russian, allowing her to dictate points more easily than on clay, her worst surface. "Yeah, it's always good, like I said, to get back on the grass," she said last week. "I'm improving my tennis. I'm playing a lot better. I played a lot of matches on clay, which I really wanted to do."
Her run of 10 straight wins ended in the French Open semifinals, exacerbated by a poor serving performance that featured 10 double faults. Until then, her delivery had at last begun to resemble the pre-surgery weapon of old. Her prospects here depend very much on how that shot holds up. She converted a solid 68 percent of her first services in her first-round match and produced a non-disastrous four double faults. The rest of her game was also on target, yielding 24 winners to just 11 unforced errors.
There's other element coinciding with the upswing in her performance: The presence of fiancée and NBA player Sasha Vujacic, who has been accompanying her to tournaments since the New Jersey Nets' season ended.
Resources : http://sports.espn.go.com/
|
Subscribe
