User:OgiBear/sharapovawork

2001–03: Professional debut
Sharapova turned professional in 2001 but played just one tournament, on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Circuit, that year. The following year, the 14 year-old Sharapova became the youngest girl to reach the final of the junior Australian Open and repeated this feat at Wimbledon later in the year. She also won three titles on the ITF Circuit and played her first matches on the main Women's Tennis Association Tour, including winning a match at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California before losing to Monica Seles in the second round.

Sharapova started playing tour events full-time in 2003. She won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw at both the Australian Open and the French Open but subsequently lost in the first round of both events. At the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, she reached the semifinals of a main tour event for the first time, defeating top seed and World No. 15 Elena Dementieva en route for her first win over a Top 20 player. She was consequently awarded a wildcard into the main draw at Wimbledon, defeating the 11th and 21st seeds to reach the fourth round where she lost to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova. After losing in the second round of the US Open to Emilie Loit, Sharapova won her first two Tier III titles the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo in October and the Bell Challenge in Quebec City four weeks later. She finished the year ranked World No. 32 and was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year.

2004: Wimbledon singles title
Sharapova was defeated by seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina in the third round of the Australian Open. The week after, Sharapova lost in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, a Tier I event. She then played in three hard court tournaments, losing in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, the fourth round of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, and the fourth round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

During the spring clay court season, Sharapova lost in the third round at both the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, which were both Tier I events. She then reached the singles quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career at the French Open, where she lost to Paola Suárez 6–1, 6–3.

On grass leading up to Wimbledon, Sharapova won her third career title at the DFS Classic tournament in Birmingham, United Kingdom, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final. The 17-year-old went into Wimbledon as the 13th seed but upset fifth-seeded and former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals 2–6, 7–6(5), 6–1. Her opponent in the final was two-time defending champion Serena Williams, with Williams an overwhelming favorite based on her higher seeding and greater experience; however, Sharapova won the match in straight sets, becoming the third-youngest Wimbledon women's champion after Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis, the first Russian to win the tournament, and, to that point, the lowest seed to win the women's event.

During the North American summer hard court season leading up to the US Open, Sharapova played three tournaments. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, the third round of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, and the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. At the US Open itself, Sharapova was defeated in the third round by two-time Grand Slam singles champion Mary Pierce 4–6, 6–2, 6–3.

Sharapova then played three tournaments in Asia and one in Europe. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing before winning the Tier IV Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul and successfully defending her Japan Open Tennis Championships title in Tokyo. In her first Tier I final, Sharapova then lost to Alicia Molik at the Zurich Open.

Sharapova ended her year by playing two tournaments in the United States. At the Tier II Advanta Championships in Philadelphia, Sharapova reached the semifinals before defaulting her match to Amélie Mauresmo. Sharapova then won the WTA Tour Championships, defeating an injured Serena Williams in the final after being down 4–0 in the final set.

Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 4 and was the second-ranked Russian (behind Myskina). Her five singles titles trailed only Davenport's seven and equaled Justine Henin's total. Sharapova also topped the prize winnings list for the year.

2005: Another top five finish


Sharapova started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, where she held three match points before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams 2–6, 7–5, 8–6. In February at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Sharapova won her first Tier I event, defeating top ranked Lindsay Davenport in the final. Three weeks later, she won the Qatar Total Open in Doha, defeating Alicia Molik in the final. She then reached the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where she again lost to World No. 1 Davenport 6–0, 6–0. To complete the spring hard court season, Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters in the final of the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Sharapova participated in two of the clay court tune-ups for the French Open. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin to Justine Henin and the semifinals of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome to Patty Schnyder. At the French Open, Sharapova lost in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, this time to Henin, the eventual champion.

On grass, Sharapova successfully defended her title at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom, defeating Jelena Janković in the final. Her 24-match grass court winning streak ended at Wimbledon when she lost in the semifinals to Venus Williams, the eventual champion, 7–6(2), 6–1.

World No. 1 Davenport injured her back during the Wimbledon final, which precluded her from defending the ranking points she obtained during the 2004 summer hard court season. Although Sharapova also played very few tournaments because of injury, she had fewer points to defend than Davenport and therefore rose to the World No. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005. She was the first Russian woman to hold the position. Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut.

At the US Open, top seeded Sharapova lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Clijsters. Nevertheless, the points she accumulated at the US Open meant that she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the World No. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005, retaining it for six weeks before relinquishing it again to Davenport following the Zurich Open. To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Amélie Mauresmo.

Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 4 again but was the top-ranked Russian for the first time. She won three titles during the year and was the only player in 2005 to reach three Grand Slam semifinals.



2006: US Open singles title
At the Australian Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Henin 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, the only match of 2006 that Sharapova lost after winning the first set. When questioned by the media about her on-court grunting at this tournament, Sharapova said, "I know this is your job. But take your notepads, take your pencils down, take your grunt-o-meters down, the fashion police, put it all away and just watch the match." Three weeks later, Sharapova lost to Henin again in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Sharapova claimed her first title of the year and eleventh of her career at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, defeating Elena Dementieva in the final. Sharapova then lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Sharapova participated at the French Open without having played any of the clay court tune-ups because of injury. After saving three match points in the first round against Mashona Washington, Sharapova was eliminated in the fourth round by Dinara Safina 7–5, 2–6, 7–5, after Sharapova led 5–1 in the third set before losing 18 of the match's last 21 points.

She again started the grass court season at the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom but was unsuccessful in her attempt to win this tournament for the third consecutive year, losing in the semifinals to American Jamea Jackson. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated in the semifinals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual champion and World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6–3, 3–6, 6–2.

Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, defeating top-seeded Kim Clijsters for the first time. She then played the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, losing to Dementieva in the semifinals. This was Sharapova's only summer hardcourt loss of the year. As the third seed at the US Open, Sharapova reached the semifinals without losing a set. She then defeated World No. 1 Mauresmo in the semifinals 6–0, 4–6, 6–0 and World No. 2 Justine Henin in the final to win her second Grand Slam singles title. Sharapova lost only one set during this tournament. When asked at the press conference after the final about her father's illegal signaling and feeding her during the match, Sharapova said, "I believe, at the end of the day, personally, my life is not about a banana."

That autumn, Sharapova won two tournaments in consecutive weeks. At the Tier I Zurich Open, Sharapova defeated Daniela Hantuchová in the final. and at the Generali Ladies Linz tournament in Linz, Austria, Sharapova beat fellow Russian and defending champion Nadia Petrova to take her fifth title of the year and the 15th title of her career.

To end the year, Sharapova won all three of her round-robin matches at the Sony Ericsson Championships, extending her winning streak to 19 matches. She lost, however, to eventual champion Henin in the semifinals. Sharapova would have finished the year as World No. 1 had she won the tournament.

Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 2 and, for the second year, as the top Russian player. Her total of five titles was second only to Henin's six.

2007: Shoulder injury begins, resulting in just one singles title


Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open because of World No. 1 Justine Henin's withdrawal. Sharapova defeated the 62nd-ranked Camille Pin in the first round 6–3, 4–6, 9–7 on her fourth match point in air temperatures that exceeded 40 °C (104 °F) and on-court temperatures that exceeded 50 °C (122 °F). In the semifinals, Sharapova defeated fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters to reach her first Australian Open final and gain the opportunity to win the only Grand Slam singles title that a Russian woman had not yet won. However, Serena Williams, ranked World No. 81, overpowered Sharapova in the final. Reaching the final meant Sharapova recaptured the World No. 1 ranking.

Partly because of hamstring and shoulder injuries that reduced the effectiveness of her serve, Sharapova did not win any of her next three tournaments. At the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Sharapova retired from her semifinal match with Ana Ivanović. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Sharapova lost in the fourth round and the World No. 1 ranking. She also lost in the fourth round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, this time to Serena Williams 6–1, 6–1.

A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay court season for the second consecutive year. Her only tune-up for the French Open was the Istanbul Cup, where she lost to Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï in the semifinals. She then reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career but fell to Ivanović 6–2, 6–1.

On grass, Sharapova lost in the final of the DFS Classic in Birmingham, United Kingdom to second seeded Jelena Janković. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was defeated by eventual champion Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–1, 6–3.

Sharapova's first summer hardcourt tournament was the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, where she won her first title of the year, fifth Tier I career title, and 16th career singles title by defeating Schnyder in the final. At the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles the next week, a shin injury forced her to withdraw from her semifinal match with fellow Russian Nadia Petrova shortly before the match started. Nevertheless, she clinched the US Open Series for the first time.

Seeded second at the US Open, Sharapova won her first two matches with the loss of only two games but then lost her third round match to 18-year-old Pole Agnieszka Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, after committing 12 double faults and 49 unforced errors. It was Sharapova's earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since she lost in the same round at the 2004 US Open. Writing in her blog following the loss, Sharapova said, "I know it's as tough for my fans to handle my losses as it is for me. But let me point something out. I didn't leave my mom at the age of seven for nothing. I didn't spend six hours a day practicing in the Florida sun at the age of nine for nothing.... I didn't sleep in little cots for three years, eating oatmeal out of a packet while playing in the middle of nowhere for nothing. All this has helped me build character and there's no better asset than being able to stand up for yourself."

Sharapova did not play again until the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the second round. The recurring shoulder problem then forced Sharapova to withdraw from the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz tournament in Linz, Austria, at both of which she was the defending champion. The early loss and the withdrawals caused Sharapova to fall out of the top five in the rankings for the first time in three years.

Sharapova qualified for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships only because Venus Williams withdrew from the tournament. In her Red Group round-robin matches, Sharapova beat World No. 9 Daniela Hantuchová, World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, and World No. 4 Ivanović. Sharapova then defeated the runner-up of the Yellow Group, World No. 7 Anna Chakvetadze, in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2. In the final, Sharapova lost to World No. 1 Henin in 3 hours and 24 minutes. This was the 12th longest women's tour match during the open era.

Sharapova ended the year ranked World No. 5, the fourth consecutive year that she finished in the top five. However, for the first time since 2004, she did not finish the year as the top-ranked Russian (the honor instead being held by Kuznetsova). Sharapova also won just one title, the first time she had failed to win at least two titles since 2002 (when she played just three WTA matches).

2008: Australian Open singles title but shoulder injury causes abbreviated year
Sharapova was the fifth-seeded player at the Australian Open. She defeated former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the second round and World No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–0, ending the latter's 32-match winning streak. Sharapova then reached her second consecutive Australian Open final when she defeated an injured Jelena Janković in the semifinals. Dropping only 10 service points during the final, including only two points on her serve in the second set, Sharapova defeated Ana Ivanović and won this tournament without losing a set. She is the only female Russian ever to have won the Australian Open.

After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches before finally losing. She participated for the first time in Fed Cup against Israel and won the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha. In the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Sharapova lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, which was her first loss of the year. Sharapova then withdrew from the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, citing a shoulder injury.



She was the top-seeded player at the Tier II clay court tournament in Amelia Island, Florida. Her 3 hour, 26 minute third round victory was her longest ever match. The next day, she needed an additional 2 hours, 36 minutes to win her quarterfinal match. Sharapova then received a walkover to the final after Davenport withdrew from the tournament. In her first career clay court final, Sharapova defeated Dominika Cibulková.

The following week at the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Sharapova lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 7–5, 4–6, 6–1. Sharapova had a set point at 5-4 in the first set and claimed the second set but then won only nine points in the final set. This was Sharapova's fourth consecutive loss to Williams. Sharapova was the second-seeded player at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia, in Rome. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals but then did not play her semifinal against Janković because of a calf injury. Sharapova nevertheless regained the World No. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the Women's Tennis Association that her own ranking be removed immediately.

Sharapova was the top-seeded player at the French Open and defeated compatriot Evgeniya Rodina in the first round 6–1, 3–6, 8–6 after being two points from becoming the first female top seeded player in the open era to lose in the first round of this tournament. Sharapova ultimately lost to 13th-seeded and eventual runner-up Dinara Safina in a 2 hour, 52 minute fourth round match 6–7(6), 7–6(5), 6–2. Sharapova saved two set points in the first set tiebreaker before winning the last four points to take the set and then had a match point at 5–3 in the second set and led 5–2 in the second set tiebreaker before losing the last five points of the set. Safina won the last four games and ten of the last twelve points of the match. Sharapova lost the match despite hitting 65 winners and only 39 unforced errors. She relinquished the World No. 1 ranking as a result of this loss.

Sharapova withdrew from the grass court tournament in Birmingham, United Kingdom because of a shoulder injury sustained during the French Open. At Wimbledon, Sharapova was seeded third but lost in the second round to compatriot and World No. 159 Alla Kudryavtseva 6–2, 6–4. This was her earliest loss ever at Wimbledon.

At the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Sharapova had the chance to regain the World No. 1 ranking. In a second round match that lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes, she defeated Marta Domachowska of Poland 7–5, 5–7, 6–2. Sharapova committed 17 double faults during the match and twice needed treatment for her right shoulder. She then withdrew from the tournament to prevent the injury from becoming worse. Shortly afterwards, a magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed that Sharapova had been suffering from a torn rotator cuff since April. This injury prevented Sharapova from playing again in 2008, missing both the Beijing Olympics and the US Open. On September 26, she announced on her website that she was taking the rest of the year off, thus missing the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 9. She won three titles and had a win-loss record of 32–4.

2009: Long recovery from injury
Sharapova withdrew from her first scheduled official tournament of the year, the Australian Open, where she was the defending champion, explaining that she was not yet in match condition. In February, Sharapova withdrew from the Open GDF Suez tournament in Paris and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Sharapova returned to the tour playing only doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, the first Premier Mandatory event of the year. She and partner Elena Vesnina lost in the first round. She then withdrew from the singles competition at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, the second Premier Mandatory event of the year, saying that she felt her shoulder needed more rest. . In May, she announced her withdrawal from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, a Premier 5 event in Rome, and the Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.

Fed Cup participation
Sharapova's representation of Russia in the Fed Cup has been controversial. At the end of 2004, compatriot Anastasia Myskina stated she would stop playing for Russia if Sharapova joined. Nevertheless, at the end of 2005, Sharapova stated she was now keen to make her Fed Cup debut and was set to play against Belgium in April 2006, but withdrew.

Sharapova later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007 and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries. The latter withdrawal led to Russia's captain saying she would be "ineligible for selection" for the Fed Cup final in September. However, Sharapova attended the final, cheering from the sidelines and acting as a "hitting partner" in practices, resulting in some of her Russian teammates implying that she was attending only to enable her to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (rules state that players must have "shown commitment" to Fed Cup in order to play). Svetlana Kuznetsova said, "She said she wanted to be our practice partner but if you can't play how then can you practice?"

Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel. Sharapova won both her singles rubbers, against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Pe'er, helping Russia to a 4–1 victory. Sharapova, however, did not play in Russia's Fed Cup semifinal or final later that year.