TENNIS | WIMBLEDON
Maria Was Only 17, When She Earned the Biggest Win of Her Career
It’s been two decades since, and Sharapova has stopped playing.
Maria Sharapova is one of the only 10 women to achieve a career Grand Slam in the singles’ category. What cements the Russian’s legacy as one of the game’s all-time greats is the fact that she is the only player who managed to win it all at a time when Serena Williams was in complete control of the women’s game and dominated in the major tournaments.
The legendary American was responsible for denying the Russian player a plethora of possible successes. Serena won 20 of her 22 matches against Sharapova, and that includes seven of the nine tournament finals where the two players faced each other. That being said, Sharapova’s only two wins over Serena were both achieved in tournament finals.
The twin results, achieved in the same year, ensured the Russian two of her biggest trophies. The second of those happened to be the final of the year-end WTA Tour Championships at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. However, it was the first that can be termed as an upset result in a real sense of the term. It was an unexpected result, no doubt, if not a huge shock. The 2004 Wimbledon served as the stage of this epic triumph.
