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Payback time for Sharapova
Russian teen queen Maria Sharapova feels she is beginning to pay back the huge debt she owes her parents with her debut Wimbledon Centre Court appearance.
Russian teen queen Maria Sharapova feels she is beginning to pay back the huge debt she owes her parents with her debut Wimbledon Centre Court appearance.
At the tender age of seven, the starlet's father took an all-or-nothing gamble on her talent, whisking her away to Florida with just a few hundred dollars and at 17, tennis' new golden girl gave them a significant downpayment with a third round victory and the promise of more to come.
With Venus Williams and French Open winner Anastasia Myskina knocked out of her half of the Wimbledon draw, the Siberian with pin-up looks has every chance of making a few more appearances at the legendary venue.
Making her Centre Court bow Friday, the number 13 seed despatched Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 and afterwards revealed her delight at finally making it to the cathedral of tennis following years of hard slog and turmol.
"I was enjoying every moment," said the blonde right-hander. "These are just moments in life we have to enjoy because not every teenager, not every person gets to experience such a moment in their lives. To be actually playing at Wimbledon, I mean, it's amazing.
"It is a dream come true. Everybody wants to be on Centre Court. Everybody wants to have that feeling of being surrounded by an amazing crowd that wants to watch your game and loves the tennis and is really into it, as the crowd was. It's a really good feeling.
"The stadium doesn't look big, but it kind of surrounds you and makes you feel like the crowd is really into the match. That's what makes the stadium so great.
"A few hours before the match, I was watching the television and Tim Henman was playing. I'm like, 'OK, I'm going to be out on that court in a few hours, right now I'm sitting on the couch!' It's amazing, it really is."
Sharapova's father flew her to Miami then took a bus up to Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton, arriving in the middle of the night, risking it all on his daughter's ability.
Just a child, Sharapova did not even see her mother for two years as she could not get a US visa.
The youngster was bullied by the older girls at the academy, but the whole experience has made her no pushover and her gritty determination has since driven her to trophies.
"The move to the US was an amazing sacrifice. I mean, you either win or you lose. I owe a lot to my parents, and I know I can give back to them by these moments like today. My grandparents in Russia are excited, they can't sleep at night, it's absolute chaos!," Sharapova explained.
"I didn't think I was poor. But when you go to the US with 700 dollars in your pocket, of course you're considered poor.
"These past years, it's been feeling a little bit easier spending my money. I don't feel so guilty any more."
