"I think this is the first time in my career where I can really say I don't have any expectations. I don't know how things are going to work out," Maria Sharapova said after her first win in a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon nearly a year ago.
Sharapova, who played with strips of white tape on her rehabbed right shoulder, shook off a sloppy start to beat Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Next up is a tough second-round test against 11th-seeded compatriot Nadia Petrova.
Sidelined since August, Sharapova had arthroscopic surgery on her serving shoulder and is competing in her second tournament in singles in the last 10 months. She played one doubles match in March at Indian Wells and won two singles matches in an event last week in Warsaw.
Biography:
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova
Nickname(s) Masha
Country Russia
Residence Longboat Key, Florida, United States
Date of birth April 19, 1987 (1987-04-19) (age 22)
Place of birth Nyagan, Soviet Union
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight 59.1 kg (130 lb; 9.31 st)[1]
Turned pro April 19, 2001
Retired No
Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money US$12,186,381
Serve:
Sharapova's first and second serves are powerful. She is often able to produce an ace (or a service winner) or provoke a weak reply from her opponent, which allows her to take control of the rally immediately.[citation needed] A serious shoulder injury in early 2007, however, reduced the effectiveness of her serve for several months. She routinely produced eight to ten double faults in many of her matches during this period. She later changed her service motion to a more compacted backswing (as opposed to her traditional elongated backswing) in an attempt to put less stress on her shoulder. Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin believes that Sharapova often loses confidence in the rest of her game when she experiences problems with her serve and consequently produces more unforced errors and generally plays more tentatively.
Surfaces:
Sharapova's preferred surfaces are the fast-playing hard and grass courts because her game is not as well-suited to the slower-playing clay courts. She lacks confidence in her ability to move and slide on this surface and once described herself as like a "cow on ice" after a match on clay.Her limitations on this surface are reflected in her career results. The French Open is the only Grand Slam singles title she has not yet won. She has won 18 titles on other surfaces and won her first Women's Tennis Association tour title on clay during her eighth year as a touring professional.
Career statistics and awards
Main article: Maria Sharapova career statistics
See also: WTA Awards
2003
* Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Newcomer of the Year
2004
* WTA Player of the Year
* WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
2005
* ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
* Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
* Master of Sports of Russia
* Prix de Citron Roland Garros
2006
* Named the country's best female player for the year by Russia's tennis federation
* Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year
2007
* ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
* ESPY Best International Female Athlete
* ESPN Hottest Female Athlete
2008
* Named the January 2008 female Athlete of the Month by the United States Sports Academy for her performance at the Australian Open
* ESPY Best Female Tennis Player
