PETE ZIEBRON
New WTA #1 Maria Sharapova Pete Ziebron Images
Maria Sharapova joined elite company in the tennis world when she defeated Italian Sara Errani 6-2 6-3 to win Roland Garros yesterday. The victory was her 4th career major title as she added to her Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open crowns.
How rare is the achievement of completing a career Grand Slam? Sharapova became only the 6th woman in the Open Era to accomplish the feat, joining: Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Margaret Court. Some of the biggest names in the WTA have not been able to complete the career Slam, including: Billie Jean King, Venus Williams, Monica Seles, Evonne Goolagong, Justine Henin and Martina Hingis.
Despite labeling herself a "cow on ice" following her lack of movement on the clay of Roland Garros following an early round victory in 2007, Sharapova has enjoyed success in Paris. Three times she reached the quarterfinals and also advanced to the semifinals twice, including last year.
Last August in Cincinnati, I asked Sharapova how much winning Roland Garros to complete the Career Grand Slam would mean to her: "Yeah, of course it would mean a lot. It's a tournament that I've always said would be the most challenging for me to win. But I feel like overall my game has improved with every year that I've been coming on the clay. Yeah, I love that challenge. I love competing against the best players on clay. I had a decent result there this year, and I hope I can improve on that."
Maria Sharapova putting in the work on the hard courts. Pete Ziebron Images
In addition to winning Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova also becomes the new world #1 when the WTA rankings come out on Monday. It will be the first time in 4 years that Sharapova has been at the pinnacle of women's tennis.
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