Maria Sharapova
Born in 1987 in Siberia, MImagearia Sharapova moved to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi a year later. She was an only child in a family whose comfortable means allowed for playing tennis and skiing.
At age 6, Maria attended a tennis exhibition in Moscow where she met tennis great Martina Navratilova, who suggested that the young girl train professionally.
Her father Yuri took Maria to Bradenton, Florida, where she commenced training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, training ground for tennis greats Monica Seles, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras. The Academy was bought by talent agency IMG, which offered Maria a full scholarship. She soon was playing competitively against much older girls, and at age 13 she won a 16-and-under championship. Two years later she was the youngest player to reach the finals of the Australian Open Junior championship. By 2003, at 16, she won her first adult pro tournament, in Japan.
Then came Wimbledon 2004. The tournament marked the 8th grand slam final for two-time Wimbledon champ Serena Williams. It was the first final for 13th-seeded Maria, but she completely dominated, winning 6-1, 6-4. She took five straight games to capture the first set and came back from a 4-2 deficit to win the second set and the match.
Says Sharapova
(Reuters)
8 July 2006
LONDON — Positive thinking and the prospect of some retail therapy lifted Maria Sharapova’s spirits after her Wimbledon semifinal defeat by Amelie Mauresmo.
Sharapova, the 2004 champion, suffered her fifth Grand Slam semifinal defeat in succession when she lost 6-3 3-6 6-2 to the world number one on Centre Court but refused to be downcast.
“It’s definitely not a setback,” the 19-year-old said. “I take every loss as a new beginning. It teaches me a lot.
“I’m going to go back on the court and I’m going to work. I’m going to keep working until I get better at those things.
“Sometimes talk is cheap. It’s a matter of going out and doing it. In a few days I’ll be back on the practice courts and that’s what it’s all about.”
Sharapova was outplayed tactically by Mauresmo in the third set and unforced errors cost her dearly.
“I just made a lot of errors coming in,” said the Russian. ”She forced me to come in, forced me to hit a good approach shot, tried to make me hit a good volley.
“Obviously there’s a lot of things that I’m going to need to improve to beat the top players. It shows when you play against top players.”
Asked what she planned to do now she was out of the tournament, Sharapova’s eyes brightened. “I’m going to head out to (clothing retailer) Top Shop tomorrow,” she said. “I’m going to go on a shopping spree. I look forward to that every single year.”
Titles
Singles
2003: Tokyo & Quebec City
2004: Birmingham, Wimbledon, Seoul, Tokyo & WTA
Championships
2005: Tokyo, Doha & Birmingham
2006: Indian Wells
Doubles
2003: Tokyo, Luxembourg
2004: Birmingham
Highest Rankings
Singles: 1 (22/8/2005)
Doubles: 41 (14/6/2004)
Win/Loss Record – Singles: 21 – 4 (YTD); 195 – 50 (Career)
Win/Loss Record – Doubles: 0 – 0 (YTD); 23 – 16 (Career)
Overall record:
Career singles titles (10) — 2003: Tokyo [Japan Open], Quebec City; 2004: Birmingham, Wimbledon, Seoul, Tokyo [Japan Open], Season-Ending Championships; 2005: Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Doha, Birmingham. Finalist (2): 2004: Zurich; 2005: Miami. Career win-loss record: 195-50
Few fun facts to file about Maria:
Off-court interests include: fashion, singing, dancing
Favorite movies: Mona Lisa Smile, Something’s Gotta Give, Love Actually
Education: Maria is home-schooled, with no plans to attend college after finishing high school. She doesn’t think there is a point ot attending college when money is getting thrown at her now.
Boyfriends: Maria Sharapova has been secretly dating Andy Roddick for a year.
Philanthropy: In 2004, she gave some $56,000 to families affected by the hostage crisis in the Russian town of Beslan, where terrorists took schoolchildren hostage. The pledge equaled the value of the Porsche Cayenne she was awarded for winning the 2004 Season-Ending Championships. She also was awarded $1 million.
Awards: In 2003, she was named one of the “coolest girls” in America by YM magazine.
Modeling: She signed with IMG Models in 2003.
Favorite books: Sherlock Holmes, and the Pippi Longstocking series
Favorite foods: Thai and Russian. She also likes crepes with Nutella.
Favorite beverage: Orangina
Trivia: What tennis legend recommended that Maria move to the U.S.?
While Maria Sharapova was performing at a tennis clinic in Russia at 6 years old, Martina Navratilova was in the building and she was flabbergasted by the talent of the 6-year-old. Martina went to Maria’s father, Yuri, and recommended that he take his daughter to the world-famous Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.
from mariasharapova.wetpaint.com, nettechno.net