Maria Sharapova: A true champion
Women’s tennis has always been inconsistent in terms of champions. Not many players have managed to repeat their victory at any Grand Slam. But in such an era of women’s tennis, two players have managed to successfully dominate the entire generations - Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Undoubtedly the greatest singles player of the current era, Serena Williams has outplayed each and every opponent and dominated almost every Grand Slam and even WTA tournament. On the other hand, Maria Sharapova or the ‘beauty queen’ as she is often called, has gone through a lot of struggle. She is yet to defeat Serena in any tournament since 2004, but with her consistent hard work and dedication on the field, Sharapova managed to reach three consecutive Roland Garros finals. winning two of them - in 2012 and now in 2014.
Her third French Open final was not nearly as easy as her first. Her new opponent, Simona Halep, has improved her game last year and was voted the most improved player in 2013, reaching a career best ranking of No. 4. Halep reached the final in Paris without dropping a set, becoming the first player to do so since Justine Henin in 2007.
But right from the start of the final, Sharapova was determined to win. She managed to win the first set by the score of 6-4, but as the second game progressed, things started to slip through her hands. She double-faulted numerous times and lost her serve thrice, but still managed to take the set to a tie-breaker, which she lost eventually.
Now, the match was forced into a third and deciding set. In the fourth game of the deciding set Halep had two break points but Sharapova played her best tennis and leveled the scores to make it 2-2. And after that, there were no looking back for the Russian. Even though she lost serve one more time, she managed to break Halep twice and won her second French Open and overall fifth Slam title in a spectacular fashion 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4.
Playing in the second longest women’s singles final ever at Roland Garros, Sharapova showed true courage and athleticism to come up with the win. Her ability to play the game under pressure is just outstanding. And after so many dominating years of Serena Williams, women’s tennis now finally has another champion who has come to dominate a tournament in her own way.