ATP World Number 18: Maria Sharapova in 2010
Former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova is a Russian tennis pro, currently ranked World Number 18 on the Women’s Tennis Association chart. Over the course of her professional career, she has amassed 22 WTA singles championships, 3 WTA doubles titles and 3
Grand Slam trophies. She emerged from her campaigns at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, the 2006 US Open and the 2008 Australian Open as a force to be reckoned with. In addition to this, she was also a finalist at the 2007 Aussie Open.
Maria Sharapova also snagged a victory at the 2004 end of year Sony Ericsson Championships, and has been ranked as World Number 1 on four different occasions. The first time she reached the top spot was in August 2005, and the last time she was reigning
champion was in 2008.
This year, Sharapova started her tennis season with two exhibition tournaments in Asia. Her year officially started with the Australian Open, which proved to be a great disappointment. For the first time in 7 years, Sharapova was knocked out of a Grand Slam
event in the opening round, after Maria Kirilenko defeated her in the first round.
However, she immediately recovered at the Cellular South Cup, where she won her 21st WTA career title. This was her first tournament win of the year. Another notable performance in 2010 was her run at Cincinnati, where she defeated a row of strong
players such as Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to tennis mama Kim Clijsters in the title match.
In one way, however, Cincinnati can also be measured as a failure for Sharapova. It was the event in which she was at her best, and she still failed to take away the title. Her injuries have taxed her heavily, and her career is under considerable duress.
Another painful loss was the first round exit at the Australian Open, served up to Sharapova by Kirilenko.
All in all, Sharapova’s career is marked with ups and downs. This is, to some extent, dependent on her injuries and the struggle she has been facing in an attempt to recover. Although she did bounce back from Melbourne’s humiliation to win the Memphis event,
she ended up giving no positive results at both Miami and Indian Wells. However, she managed to win her second career title of the year at Strasbourg on clay, a surface she has suffered due to in the past.
While Sharapova’s grass court season showed marked signs of improvement, she was unfortunate enough to clash with eventual champion Serena Williams at the in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships. She was only able to win one match in the fall
Asian run.
In review, Sharapova has proved time and again that she is a consistent and competitive player. Her fall from grace can, therefore, be easily explained by her multiple injuries (especially her right shoulder). However, the fact remains that her out-there
style and inclination towards short rallies is no longer as effective as it had proven to be in the past. While she may be under pressure, her attitude remains positive, and if she can get healthy she just may be able to fight her way back into the top five
players through the sheer force of determination.
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