Posted on 06/09/2012 5:43:27 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
PARIS — Ever since shoulder surgery nearly forced Maria Sharapova into early retirement, she occupied an odd space in both tennis and the wider world of sports. She remained among the most marketable female athletes on the planet, a superstar in every sense except the most important one.
The gap between her game and her fame closed considerably Saturday, by virtue of a one-sided victory that left her knees down and crying on the red clay at Roland Garros, then bounding into the stands, where the Russian hugged her entourage and kissed not one but two babies.
After Sharapova dismantled Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-2, she held aloft the silver French Open championship trophy, for her the most elusive of the four major championships. This triumph gave Sharapova a career Grand Slam.
Sharapova earned her first major title in 2004 at Wimbledon at age 17, then the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.
Everything that happened afterward — the shoulder surgery, the reconstructed service motion, the comeback that shocked many in the tennis world — was as difficult as it was unexpected.
Sharapova didn't play singles from August 2008 until May 2009, when her ranking fell to 126th in the world.
"It wasn't getting better as soon as everyone thought it would," she said of her shoulder. "That was the frustrating thing, because it was like, 'When is this going to end?' "
Sharapova guaranteed herself the No. 1 ranking in the world this week by reaching the final; the last time she occupied the No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings was June 2008.
Sharapova, the 10th woman with a career Grand Slam, once said she resembled a "cow on ice" when playing on clay. She is 16-0 on the surface this season.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Maybe people will post pics of Sharapova.
But since it came up...
when is she going to call herself an American....
Good for her. Coming back from injury and surgery is a big deal.
Plus she’s pretty.
So has Danica
MOTEGI, Japan — Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps.
Patrick finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later.
I understand she also plays tennis. I think it’s tennis, maybe.
RE: when is she going to call herself an American....
Maybe she’s looking closely first at what’s going to happen to Eduardo Saverin (formerly of Facebook fame ). I don’t think it is to her advantage to be an American with Chuck Schumer’s Ex-Patriot Act coming up for debate.
Her biggest problem has been that she tires easily.
“MERCY!””— Wolfman Jack.
Simona Halep, the future of tennis.
<gulp>
I stand extremely corrected...
she’s listed at 6’ 2” 130 lbs
it's pics like that that will make her be looked at as the serious professional race car driver she claims she wants to be taken for...
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