Maria Yuryevna Sharápova is a Russian professional tennis player of Belarussian descent and a former World No. 1. As of February 14, 2008, she is the fifth-ranked female player in the world. At the end of 2006, she was the world's highest-paid female athlete.
Sharapova has won three Grand Slam singles titles. In 2004, she beat Serena Williams to take the Wimbledon title at the age of 17. Two years later, she defeated Justine Henin in the final of the 2006 U.S. Open. At the 2008 Australian Open, she beat Ana Ivanović in the final.
Sharapova was the fifth seed at the Australian Open, her lowest seeding at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 U.S. Open. On the way to the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Elena Dementieva in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Sharapova defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin 6-4, 6-0, snapping Henin's 32-match winning streak. Sharapova then reached her second consecutive Australian Open final when she defeated an injured Jelena Janković 6-3, 6-1. She defeated Ana Ivanović 7-5, 6-3 in the final, dropping only 10 service points during the match. Sharapova now needs just the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam in singles.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova participated for the first time in Fed Cup. In the quarterfinal tie against Israel, Sharapova helped Russia reach the semifinals by winning her singles matches against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Peer.
At the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Sharapova won the singles title by defeating Vera Zvonareva in a three-set final. This was Sharapova's second title of the year, sixth career Tier I singles title, 18th career singles title, and 14th consecutive match win. She has won the Doha singles title both years she has played the event, the first coming in 2005.
At the Tier I Pacific Life Open, Sharapova defeated the defending champion, Daniela Hantuchová, in the quarterfinals 7-6(2), 6-1 before losing in the semifinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. This was Sharapova's first loss of the year after 18 wins. Sharapova then withdrew from the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida because of a shoulder injury.
Maria Sharapova site is now at www.mariasharapovapicture.org . This site has biography, trivia, photos, video, news, forums and a lot of information about Maria Sharapova.
