The 2011 French Open champion has shown some serious, serious grit as she tries to win a second Roland Garros crown.
Maria Sharapova has nothing left to prove in the world of tennis. With a career Grand Slam to her name, she has won all her sport’s biggest prizes and at 27, and with injury woes behind her, she is really enjoying her tennis again.
As the big names, like the Williams sisters, exited early, the 2014 French Open draw opened up for the Russian but she almost came unstuck against 19th seed Samantha Stosur in the fourth round. The Australian took the first set 6-3 and the score was 4-4 in the second before Sharapova finally asserted her authority. After winning the second set 6-4, she crushed her opponent 6-0 in the deciding set.
That should have set up a quarter-final with Sharapova’s nemisis Serena Williams – the American has a nine-year, 15-game win streak going against Sharapova – but her vanquisher Garbine Muguruza was waiting instead. On paper, it should have been an easy win for Sharapova, but it was not to be.
The Spaniard sensationally won the first set 6-1, bamboozling the much more experienced Sharapova. But the longer the game went on, the more Sharapova’s experience and stamina shone through. After nicking the second 7-5, she cruised past the beaten Muguruza in the third 6-1.
Almost unbelievably, Sharapova went a set down in her semi-final today, against Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, before again battling back to take two must-win sets 7-5 and 6-2.
After all her injury problems, and such a tough path, to see Sharapova lift her fifth Grand Slam title in Paris on Saturday would be a true reflection of her incredible will to win.
