SPORTS

Factbox: French Open champion Maria Sharapova

June 09, 2012 23:36 IST

Factbox on Maria Sharapova, who became the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam after beating Sara Errani to win the French Open title on Saturday.

Born: April 19, 1987 in Nyagan, Russia

Lives: Bradenton, Florida, US

GRAND SLAM TITLES:

*Four: Wimbledon (2004); U.S. Open (2006); Australian Open (2008), French Open 2012

MAKING HER NAME

*Born in Siberia, moves to Black Sea coastal resort of Sochi aged two.

*Moves to Florida in 1996 to train at Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Bradenton. Sharapova's father Yuri moves to US with her but mother, Yelena, has to stay in Russia due to visa restrictions.

*Turns professional in 2001.

TENNIS CAREER

*Wins first tour title at Tokyo in 2003. Finishes inside top-50 for first time.

*Becomes first Russian woman to win Wimbledon in 2004, beating defending champion Serena Williams in the final.

*In August 2005 becomes first Russian woman to reach the top of the world rankings.

*Wins her second Grand Slam after defeating second seed Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4, in the 2006 US Open final

*Beats Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-3 in 2008 to win her third Grand Slam title, and first Australian Open.

*Regains number one ranking by beating Petra Kvitova in their semi-finals at Roland Garros before defeating Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in the final to complete her collection of Grand Slam trophies.

OTHER NOTES

*Acted as bid ambassador for Sochi's successful 2014 Winter Olympics bid.

*Undergoes shoulder surgery in 2008 and has a nine-month injury layoff.

*Is the richest woman in sport and with more than seven million fans, she is the most followed female athlete on Facebook.

Source: REUTERS
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