Back in the black

Sunday 24 June 2012

A couple of hours after her French Open win just two weeks ago, Maria Sharapova was asked whether completing the full set of all four Grand Slam titles was the most satisfying achievement of her career.

Maria Sharapova has her sights on another Wimbledon crown Photograph: Getty

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Simon Cambers

"I'm not done yet," came the reply, struck right down the sideline and a winner all the way.

Just under four years ago, the Russian was forced off the tour for nine months with a shoulder injury that required surgery; now she goes into Wimbledon as the world No 1, chasing back-to-back Grand Slam titles.

It has been some turnaround for the 25-year-old, who was written off by all and sundry when she first came back in 2009, her serve malfunctioning and her game yet to click. But an enormous amount of work and the relentless self-belief that took her to the Wimbledon title when she was just 17 has never deserted her and she is the bookmakers' favourite to go one better than last year, when she lost to Czech Petra Kvitova in the final."I don't know if words can really describe the feeling of winning a Grand Slam," she said yesterday. "I think everybody knows the meaning of this tournament for me, ever since I was a young girl, how special it was. To be part of its history for the rest of my career and life means a lot. I certainly hope I can achieve the success I had many years ago here. I'm certainly very happy with what I achieved, but that doesn't make me less eager to want to achieve more. Obviously when I was coming to the French for the last three years, it's been the one that I hadn't won, so that was sort of the storyline. Maybe there will be a new one now. It would be a nice change."It says a lot about the improvement in Sharapova's game that she is the favourite to win the women's singles title here, eight years after her breakthrough win. Drawn in the opposite half to four-times champion Serena Williams and defending champion Kvitova, Sharapova begins her title quest against Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and will expect to ease through the first week.After she won the title in Paris, Sharapova took a few days off and did not play a warm-up event but said rest was more important for her, in this case, than match practice. "I was really happy, easy going," she said. "I didn't feel like I needed a huge celebration. I was walking around for three days with the biggest smile. Then I got here and I thought, I'd better get back to reality."It's an extremely busy summer for me and I don't think I was physically ready to go out and play a warm-up tournament. I've been here for more than a week now and practising and getting ready. I've had a lot of grass-court practice. It's been good."Sharapova's three titles this year have all come on clay, but her strong serve and aggressive returns are well suited to grass, where the rallies are shorter. "On a fast grass court, you're not playing more than five-ball rallies," she said. "If you are, you're probably doing something wrong. I enjoy it, I really do. You have to stay a little lower. The bounce is much lower. Return and serve are extremely important."Victory, of course, is far from being a fait accompli, with Williams, Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska and Kim Clijsters, in her final Wimbledon, all with legitimate title claims. Azarenka began the year with victory at the Australian Open, but has a point to prove after losing early in Paris and it is Williams and title-holder Kvitova who are likely to pose Sharapova the biggest problems.The American and Czech are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals but having lost in the fourth round here last year – and in the first round at Roland Garros – Williams is itching to get her hands on the trophy for the fifth time. "I love competing," Williams said yesterday. "I love the challenge. I love holding up trophies. I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel confident."At times, Williams has been accused of not committing 100% to tennis, allowing her many outside interests to take too much of a role. But having won 13 Grand Slam titles, the 30-year-old knows better than anyone what makes her tick and when she is wounded, she is even more dangerous than usual. "Whether I had won in Paris or lost like I did in the first round, I am always extremely motivated," she said. "If anything, I think losing makes me even more motivated."A prospective quarter-final against Kvitova could be one of the highlights of the tournament and the tall Czech is in form, having reached the semi-finals at the French Open. An early defeat at Eastbourne is unlikely to affect her and if she can handle the nerves as defending champion, she could prove to be very difficult to beat once again.Whoever comes through the bottom half of the draw, though, it all comes back to Sharapova. "There's a lot more left in me," she said, as if we needed reminding.

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