With the withdrawal from the 2009 Australian Open, long-term Ozeki Maria Sharapova will drop out of the Sanyaku (=Championship) ranks for the first time since 2004, when the burst onto the scene by winning Wimbledon and gaining an immediate promotion to Ozeki.
Sharapova's career achievements to date make her already one of the strongest Ozeki (=Champions) of the open era. After Wimbledon 2004, Sharapova won two more slams, the US Open 2006 and the Australian Open 2008. She has therefore collected as many open titles as the Yokozuna Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport. Among female career-high Ozeki, only Virginia Wade matches her achievements. Sharapova entered 15 grand slam tournaments as Ozeki. At one point -- the Australian Open 2007 -- she was only one victory away from a Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) promotion, when she lost the final to a spirited Serena Williams. Sharapova had lost Ozeki rank before -- after sub-par performances at Wimbledon and the US Open 2007 -- but regained it brilliantly by winning last year's Australian Open. Thereafter Sharapova's game fell apart due to injuries, however, forcing her to miss the last two slams altogether.
It's easy to forget over these achievements that Sharapova is still only 21: almost two years younger than world #1 Jelena Jankovic, one year younger than Dinara Safina, and just 7 months older than Ana Ivanovic. If healthy and motivated, Sharapova should be able to enjoy many more years at the top.
And ladies' tennis needs her. Since Justine Henin's retirement, the scene has again been dominated by the ageing but, on their day, still overwhelming Williams sisters, both established Yokozuna. Other than them, no female player has managed to even establish herself as Ozeki recently, a short-lived interlude by Ana Ivanovic last year notwithstanding. What a contast to the mens' game, where Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have closed in on the phenomenal Yokozuna-double Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and where other exciting players -- del Potro, Tsonga, Monfils -- are breathing down the leaders' neck.
Ladies' tennis needs badly the starpower and brilliance Sharapova can produce. Get healthy, Maria, and hope to see you back.
| Career-High Ozeki | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, Russia | |||||
| Grand Slam Achievements | |||||
| Australian | French | Wimbledon | US | Total | |
| Titles | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Finals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Semifinals | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Quarterfinals | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Career points | 11 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 29 |
| Tournament rank | O | K | O | O | O |
| Career Timeline | |||||
| Year | Tournament | Rank Pre-T | Result | Rank Post-T | Career points |
| 2003 | A | - | R1 | - | 0 |
| 2003 | F | - | R1 | - | 0 |
| 2003 | W | - | R4 | - | 0 |
| 2003 | U | - | R2 | - | 0 |
| 2004 | A | - | R3 | - | 0 |
| 2004 | F | - | QF | - | 1 |
| 2004 | W | - | Win (1) | O | 5 |
| 2004 | U | O | R3 | O* | 5 |
| 2005 | A | O* | SF | O | 7 |
| 2005 | F | O | QF | O | 8 |
| 2005 | W | O | SF | O | 10 |
| 2005 | U | O | SF | O | 12 |
| 2006 | A | O | SF | O | 14 |
| 2006 | F | O | R4 | O* | 14 |
| 2006 | W | O* | SF | O | 16 |
| 2006 | U | O | Win (2) | O | 20 |
| 2007 | A | O | F | O | 23 |
| 2007 | F | O | SF | O | 25 |
| 2007 | W | O | R4 | O* | 25 |
| 2007 | U | O* | R3 | S | 25 |
| 2008 | A | S | Win (3) | O | 29 |
| 2008 | F | O | R4 | O* | 29 |
| 2008 | W | O* | R2 | S | 29 |
| 2008 | U | S | - | K | 29 |
| 2009 | A | K | - | - | 29 |
No comments:
Post a Comment