Maria Sharapova: Lost and Found

After her title-winning performance at the age of 17, Maria Sharapova continued to shine and won two more Grand Slams before taking a U-turn and surprised many who called her the next big thing in women’s tennis. Sharapova’s early surge instilled a new life in dwindling Russian on-court dominance, but the talented Russian lost her way and focus amidst colossal endorsement offers and relentless hype – and it seemed as if her stars were eclipsed forever. Once again, Sharapova is ready to bring back those glory days and we as tennis fans would like to see that happen, very soon.

Consistency, perseverance and stamina – take the back seat, when your progress gets halted by an injury. A three-time Grand Slam champion, Maria Sharapova has emerged as an enigma for many over the years. When asked about her chances in the recently concluded Wimbledon, Martina Navratilova said, "She’s fun to watch. She’s such a diva, but a flip of a coin.” Well, that says a lot about the woes of the former world no. 1.

Maria Sharapova who has been struggling a lot with recurring injuries for quite a while now. And, her nine months off from tennis saw the Russian to fell out of the 120 in the 2009 season. Sharapova gained some form by clinching the title in Memphis, but easily subdued at the Australian Open by exiting in the first-round. Her reliable arm, which was once dreaded by many, eluded her during those crunch moments of need and once again, Sharapova took a two-month break with an elbow injury.

The Russian, who used to surprise her opponents with her big serve, lost that advantage due to recurring arm injuries. And, tennis fans badly missed that Russian aggression and stature, which sensed a new life after the entry of Sharapova in the professional tennis. It was Sharapova who beat Serena Williams in 2004 Wimbledon and also bagged the biggest endorsement contract as a female athlete with a leading shoe company.

Well, 2010 brought new hopes on the horizon for Sharapova, but her early exits at the Australian Open and French Open forced many to believe that they might not see this Russian with another Grand Slam trophy – certainly not in the recent times because of her consistent dubious performance.

On the other hand, Sharapova did relatively well in Memphis and Strasbourg and also played well on the grass in Birmingham till the final set of the championship match, where she lost to the Chinese Na Li. Once again everybody expected a sort of substantial fight in the Championships 2010, when Sharapova met Serena Williams but could not defeat her and lost the match with a 7-6 6-4 scoreline.

Luckily, Sharapova seems healthy and still hits a ball with some power behind it. After making a slight change in her motion during serving, Sharapova is back to hitting 120 mph serves and that’s something she requires desperately. Sharapova is much like Rafael Nadal, who is a fierce competitor and always looks in a hurry to take control over proceedings as the match starts. Now, Sharapova is back in top 20 and we can say that her agonising struggle with injuries is over. Thus, we can expect the return of same old Sharapova in the ongoing hard-court season.