Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian
Open by seventh seed Anastasia Myskina.
The highlight of the remainder of her spring hard-court
season was a run to the semifinals at the Regions Morgan
Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, where she
ultimately lost to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.
During the spring clay-court season, Sharapova entered the
top 20 on the WTA world rankings as a result of reaching the
third round of the Qatar Telecom German Open and the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia, both of which were Tier I
events.
At the latter event, she defeated a player ranked in the top
10 for the first time with a straight-sets win over world
no. 10 and 2004 French Open finalist Elena Dementieva. Later
that clay-court season, she went on to make the
quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the
French Open, losing there to Paola Suarez.
Sharapova won the third title of her career at the Wimbledon
warm-up DFS Classic, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final.
Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wimbledon, she reached her first
Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Ai Sugiyama. There, she
defeated fifth seed and former champion Lindsay Davenport.
In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and defending
champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles
title, and become the third-youngest woman to win the
Wimbledon title, behind only Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis.
Sharapova also became the second Russian woman (after
Anastasia Myskina had won the year's previous major at
Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The
victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset
in memory", with other writers commenting on her arrival as
a serious challenger to the Williams' dominance at
Wimbledon. She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the
first time as a result of the win.
Following her Wimbledon win, attention and interest in
Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in
popularity dubbed as "Maria Mania." However, on court, she
was struggling to achieve results, winning just three of six
matches in her preparations for the TAG Heuer, 2008. At the
TAG Heuer, 2008 itself, she reached the third round, before
being eliminated by Mary Pierce. In order to regain
confidence, Sharapova played and won consecutive titles in
Asia in the fall, the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships
and the Japan Open Tennis Championships.
In October, Sharapova defeated Venus Williams en route to
making the final of a Tier I event for the first time at the
Zurich Open, losing in the final to Alicia Molik. She then
made her debut at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.
There, she won two of her three round-robin matches
(including a win over TAG Heuer, 2008 champion Svetlana
Kuznetsova) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she
defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated Serena
Williams, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.
TAG Heuer promotion, Hong Kong - Maria Sharapova Photoshoot
press image for big size
Biography
Maria Sharapova born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player. As of February 25, 2013 she is ranked world no. 3.
Jordan Spieth has another chance to be Jordan Spieth again
He knows how to win majors. He has played two good rounds at Royal Portrush, despite not hitting the ball all that well. Can muscle memory help him overcome his weekend struggles and be a major winner again?
Harden: New move will look like a travel; it's not
James Harden says as part of his offseason efforts toward innovation, he will be working on another move this summer beyond his step-back jumper from two years ago and his side step-back jumper he introduced last season.
Dadashev undergoes brain surgery after loss
Maxim Dadashev was having surgery due to brain swelling following his 11th-round loss to Subriel Matias on Friday night.
M's Leake loses perfect game in 9th, blanks L.A.
Mike Leake of the Seattle Mariners lost his bid for a perfect game on a leadoff single in the ninth inning by Angels rookie Luis Rengifo, then finished off Los Angeles for a 10-0 win Friday night.
Tiger: 'I just want to go home' after missing cut
Tiger Woods says he's taking a couple of weeks off and will focus on the FedEx Cup playoffs, in which he finished second last year.
Harbaugh wary of mental health use in waivers
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says he thinks players should be able to transfer once without sitting a year but wants them to be honest about their reasons when seeking NCAA waivers.
Angels give up on Harvey, DFA former All-Star
The Angels designated Matt Harvey, the ex-Mets ace who struggled in his 12 starts for L.A. this season, for assignment on Friday.
Big questions for the NBA's new title contender tiers
This is the first year since 2015-16 without an established odds-on favorite.
Missed the NFL offseason? Here's everything that happened
Reviewable pass interference, new Jets threads, five teams with new QBs and more. It's been a wild NFL offseason. Catch up right here.
Deadline decisions, Baez vs. Tatis and the NL East race
Which teams have buy-or-sell choices to make? Which NL shortstop will shine? And have the Braves locked up the East? We'll get you ready for the weekend.
Where would the Yankees be without the New York Rockies?
Players who traded in their Colorado purple for pinstripes have the Bombers soaring atop the AL East. Now they're taking down their former team.
What makes each member of 2019 HOF class a Hall of Famer
Rivera, Halladay, Mussina, Martinez, Smith, Baines: From the first unanimous selection to the latest controversial Cooperstown call, here's why each of these guys is worthy of the Hall.
We checked out those weird offseason workouts you've seen on Instagram
What's with all the water, sand, ropes, stability balls and strobe glasses? Let's dig in to a few of these offseason workouts we've seen go viral.
How it started: First jobs in football for all 32 NFL head coaches
They got coffee, cut tape, lined the field, played the "Grim Reaper," even washed cars. An NFL head coach has to start somewhere. Here are their stories.
MLS W2W4: D.C. travels to Atlanta for battle of the Uniteds
Pity Martinez is causing Atlanta problems off the field, and Lucho Acosta is troubling D.C. on it. That and more in this edition of MLS W2W4.
Algeria's AFCON title win wasn't pretty but will remain memorable
Algeria's scrappy AFCON championship win over Senegal will give the players -- and the country -- a fresh surge of optimism on the future.
Did Dana White actually do Dos Anjos a favor by having him face Edwards?
Rafael Dos Anjos is a former lightweight champion looking to find glory at welterweight. Leon Edwards, with seven straight wins, is streaking a title chance. Who will stay on course?
Leon Edwards: MMA saved me from being 'dead, in prison or dead broke'
Leon Edwards will fight Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday. For Edwards, getting to this point meant leaving a life filled with violence, crime and gangs.
Will Keith Thurman be too much for Manny Pacquiao at 40?
Here's everything you need to know about the Pacquiao-Thurman title fight in Las Vegas.
'He thrives on this': The adulation that drives Pacquiao
What keeps Manny Pacquiao fighting, even at 40? It's impossible to imagine him giving up the money, the fame or -- least of all -- the attention.
TBT 2019 schedule, tip times, TV info, expert picks
The $2 million TBT begins on Friday. Here's info on how to watch and who our experts are picking to win The Basketball Tournament.
The lost ring that turned a Georgia Southern long-snapper into a 'rock star'
How a 2002 Southern Conference championship ring made its way 2,400 miles back home -- from Montana's Glacier National Park back to its absent-minded owner.
Saban, Alabama need to stop making excuses and give Clemson credit
Clemson won the national championship because it was the better team, not because some Alabama players were supposedly worried about their futures and the NFL.
3x3 basketball: How the U.S. women are pushing to qualify for 2020 Games
While the U.S. women have dominated 5-on-5 basketball, they are no guarantee to even qualify for the women's 3x3 tournament at the 2020 Olympics.
Ron Francis' vision for Seattle's NHL team: 'It will be a destination.'
The Hall of Famer shares his plan for hiring a staff, lessons from the Vegas expansion draft, Seattle's edge in targeting free agents and more.
Julian Alaphilippe has the last laugh, for now anyway, at the Tour de France
Julian Alaphilippe may or may not win the Tour de France, but after Friday's impressive time trials, no one is doubting his capabilities.
press image for big size
