Maria Sharapova to become world number one from next week – Tennis News
Russian beauty, Maria Sharapova, will overtake Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka to become the number one player in the world after the French Open.
Currently, she is at the number two position in the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Singles Rankings and by reaching the Roland Garros title match, Sharapova has made sure that she wins enough points to rise to the top of women’s
tennis once again.
The Russian defeated fourth seed, Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic, in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, in the semi-finals at the French Open. In this way, she also took revenge from the Czech, as the latter had defeated her in the 2011
Wimbledon Championships final.
Talking to the reporters after her semi-final clash with the Croatian, a jubilant Sharapova said, “So to be at a level to get to No1 in the world and a first Roland Garros final makes it a very special day.”
The 25-year-old will regain the top ranking after a gap of four years, as she was ranked number one in 2008 for the last time after winning her third Major.
Sharapova will play 21st seed, Sara Errani of Italy, in the French Open final on Saturday. If she beats her Italian opponent to win the Roland Garros crown, she will become just the 10th women to complete
a Career Slam.
The Russian has already won all the other three Majors and only the French Open has eluded her so far. She captured her first Grand Slam title by stunning favourite, Serena Williams, at the Wimbledon Championships final in 2004.
She went on to win the US Open in 2006 and Australian Open in 2008.
Sharapova added, “I’ve played tennis since I was four. I committed myself to this sport and I’ve always loved what I did and when it was taken away from me for a while, that’s when I realised how grateful I was and how lucky I
was to be playing it.”
Clay is Sharapova’s least favourite surface and she did not come near to winning the Roland Garros title before. However, she entered this year’s championships as one of the favourites, after she won the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
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