By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Photograph credit score: Stephen White/CameraSport
Maria Sharapova closed the curtain on her profession in 2020, however exhibits endurance at Wimbledon.
Twenty years after a 17-year-old Sharapova shocked Serena Williams within the 2004 Wimbledon ultimate dethroning the defending champion in a straight-sets blow-out, she’s once more rising as a winner at SW19.
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In response to a journalist’s query in regards to the ideally suited dinner visitor, each present world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and former No. 1 Naomi Osaka cited Sharapova because the champion they’d select to satisfy and break bread.
“For certain Steffi Graf. I’d love to speak to her and meet her, share some experiences,” Swiatek informed the media after her Wimbledon first-round win over Sofia Kenin as we speak. “Additionally I believe Maria Sharapova, ‘trigger we by no means actually talked as a result of she sort of retired after I was nonetheless going up.
“And I really feel like she made some good selections off the courtroom by way of her enterprise, and she or he dealt with the whole lot properly. You may sort of take instance from her. And Serena.”
Requested the identical query following her Wimbledon opening-round win over Diane Parry, four-time main champion Osaka cited fellow Swoosh star Sharapova alongside two different Grand Slam champions.
“Andre Agassi, Li Na…Sharapova,” Osaka replied when requested her dream dinner friends.
Maybe each champions will get their want as Sharapova has visited Wimbledon along with her son Theo and shared a few of that have on social media.
At her finest, Sharapova was one of many hardest, loudest, fiercest, boldest champions of her period who scored Grand Slam ultimate victories over former No. 1 gamers Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep.
Sharapova confirmed a spirited love of the battle and established a well-earned popularity as a charismatic, combative and controversial champion.
World No. 1 and fellow Head endorser Novak Djokovic developed a friendship with Sharapova and praised her combating spirit when she introduced her official retirement in a 2020 essay she wrote for Vainness Honest.
“She’s an awesome fighter and as devoted as somebody may actually be in our sport,” Djokovic mentioned of Sharapova. “Her willpower and willingness to sort of overcome all of the obstacles she had within the final 5, six years with accidents and surgical procedures and making an attempt to combat again and are available again and performed on her desired stage, it’s really inspirational to see what a thoughts of a champion she has.
“I’m sorry it needed to finish with an damage, however on the similar time she had a implausible profession. She might be pleased with herself.”
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