The tennis world can’t get enough of the grace and poise that Maria Sharapova brings to the court. She was all elegance as she spoke about her struggles with the shoulder injury, and a successful comeback, here on Sunday.
All the while, when she was battling the injury, she left a void on the circuit.
This season, Sharapova has fought her way to the top of the pack, winning the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, besides winning the silver medal at the Olympics and also getting back to the No. 1 spot briefly. The process, more than anything else, has taught her to treat success and failure in equal measure.
“It has been a remarkable year,” said Sharapova, who was in the Capital on Sunday as a brand ambassador for Homestead infrastructure.
“You work so hard in life and you start at a very young age and usually things keep going for you. And when something you like so much is taken back from you at a young age, it is difficult.
“I was 21 when I had a shoulder surgery which is very unusual for a tennis player, and not many people would come back from that. The time away from the sport was very emotional and difficult as I was not even able to pick the racquet,” Sharapova said.
It is therefore not surprising that she rates the French Open victory as the best among her four Grand Slams. ” It is tough to differentiate the most memorable moment of my career, and say that one was more special than the other. It (Grand Slams) all came at very different times in my career. But the French Open this year was special because I was injured for a year and I was coming back to the sport. It made me realise how hard it is to get to a winning position, and how hard it is to earn it.”
Her comeback has spiced up the circuit with her rivalries with Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.
“It is important to have rivalries in sport. That’s what makes the competition better. You always keep working hard. Serena is an incredible athlete and someone who has achieved so much success in her career. I was consistent this year and hope it continues next year also.” From a precociously talented 17-yearold, who triumphed at the Wimbledon in 2004, Sharapova has surely come a long way. “I think I am somewhere in the middle of the generation because I started when I was very young. Now, I am seeing the new generation coming up. It’s interesting because I am still quiet young and I thought I had many more years ahead of me. You see so much newer talents coming up on the tour and this is what you are going to see in 10 years from now.” Having seen the tough injury phase, Sharapova can understand why Sania Mirza has shifted her preference to doubles.
