French Open 2013: Has Maria Sharapova Become the Forgotten Woman?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 3, 2013

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Does anyone remember Maria Sharapova? You know, the defending French Open Champion? The worldwide superstar? The No. 2 player in the world?

Perhaps you know her as Grigor Dimitrov's girlfriend?

Despite the fact that Maria Sharapova is 11-1 this clay season and has marched to the quarterfinals without dropping a set, she has been decidedly under the radar this fortnight.

That's because according to most of the media, this French Open belongs to Serena Williams.

As long as she is still standing, everyone else is an afterthought. That includes last year's runner-up Sara Errani, 2009 Roland Garros winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, Australian Open Champion Victoria Azarenka and yes, even Miss Sugarpova herself.



While a few years ago it would have seemed normal for Sharapova to be left out of the conversation at the French Open, last year she revived her legacy and reinvented her clay-court image by winning the French Open crown.

Not many people thought she was capable of doing this, especially not after a career-altering shoulder surgery. 

But while she marched impressively through the field in 2012, only dropping one set along the way, she did get some lucky breaks. The highest-seeded opponent she faced was No. 4 Petra Kvitova, who has never been a clay-court powerhouse. She got a surprise opponent, Sara Errani, in the finals.

And most importantly for Sharapova, Serena lost in the first round.

Maria Sharapova's struggles against Serena Williams have been well-documented. She is 2-13 against the younger Williams, including two losses this year and 12 straight losses overall. In fact, the last time Sharapova beat Serena was 2004.

That's right—the last time Maria Sharapova defeated Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo and Anastasia Myskina were the top three players in the world. Rafael Nadal hadn't ever played the French Open. Vince...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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