Tennis: The guts and the glory

We know her as Maria. In Russia she is known as 'Masha' or 'Marusya'. Everybody on the planet knows about the glamour and the grunt but few appreciate the guts.

Maria Sharapova was unveiled this week as the marquee player for the 2011 ASB Classic and appeals as easily the biggest drawcard in the tournament's history. She is Anna Kournikova, Lindsay Davenport and Elena Dementieva rolled into one, with three Grand Slam titles to her name and 22 tournament victories across her career.

She was also the highest-paid female athlete in 2010 and often the most sought athlete on internet search engines.

But the last three years have been tough and it has been a long road back from injury for Sharapova. Since having surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff at the end of 2008, the 23-year-old has not made it past the fourth round of the last six Grand Slam tournaments.

The last time she went beyond the last eight at a major was at the Australian Open in 2008, where she claimed her third Grand Slam title after beating Ana Ivanovic in the final, not dropping a set in the tournament.

Currently ranked 17, she has yet to return to the top 10 since the surgery - but the signs are good. A first-round loss to lower ranked compatriot Maria Kirilenko (No 56) in January in Melbourne was disappointing (it was the first time she had failed to win a match at a major since 2003) but there was nothing shameful about her Grand Slam exits since then.

At the French Open she was tipped out by born-again clay court queen Justin Henin, while Serena Williams was her conqueror in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Sharapova looked in good touch in New York last month but had the misfortune to draw world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki. The precocious Dane won the Battle Of The Beauties.

Aged seven, Sharapova left her home in the Black Sea town of Sochi, flying across the Atlantic to join Nick Bolletieri's famed tennis academy in Florida. Her family put everything into the youngster. Failure wasn't an option.

She turned pro on her 14th birthday and soon began to attract attention on and off the court, signing up to a modelling agency at the age of 16. With Sharapova there was always the feeling that she didn't just want to be a champion; she needed to be a champion.

In 2004, as a 17-year-old, she found a way to win Wimbledon against all odds. Sharapova was five points from defeat in the quarter-final and came back; in the semifinal against Lindsay Davenport she was three points from oblivion before countering; in the decider she surprised herself to beat Serena Williams, becoming the second-youngest and lowest seeded Wimbledon champion of the Open era.

"It was a major shock," Sharapova recalls, "I never thought I was physically ready to win a grand slam at that stage."

That unlikely triumph cemented self-belief and will to win that has been rare among her contemporaries in recent years.

"With her it is not over until she is shaking hands at the net," was Martina Navratilova's view of her mental toughness. In contrast Dementieva, Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic and Wozniacki have had their moments but have often demonstrated a flaky edge to their games; a mental fragility.

The recently engaged Russian has 10 years of professional tennis under her belt but is still only 23. She appeals as someone who can take another major. An aggressive baseliner, she uses heavy angled groundstrokes to open up the court then wins points with her signature swinging drive volley.

Her serve has never been the most venomous, and has lost some power since the injury but is consistent enough not to be a weakness. Sharapova's win-loss record against the big four is respectable (vs Serena Williams 2-6; Venus Williams 3-3; Henin 3-7; Cljisters 3-5) and better than most in the top echelon.

Sharapova acknowledges the depth in women's tennis is getting stronger every year.

"A few years ago in the first few rounds you would find yourself warming up for the latter stages of the tournament. Now, because of the depth, from the first round you are playing against good players that have had big wins."

Andre Agassi's revelations in his recent autobiography about his unhappy, tennis-obsessed childhood have led to some commentators drawing a parallel with Sharapova but she is adamant that the desire and enjoyment remains.

"It is impossible to be really great at what you do if you don't commit a lot of your time and most of your life to that particular thing," she says. "If you don't give that commitment then later in life you will look back with regrets. It requires a lot of work and dedication from a very young age but there are a lot of bonuses and rewards.

"We are pretty lucky to be able to travel and hit a tennis ball for a living. I don't know anything but tennis but at the end of the day it is what makes me happy."

Sharapova's trainer spent his honeymoon in New Zealand and has since regaled her with tales of a beautiful land. She calls herself a "good traveller" who doesn't "like to hear too much about places before I go" and is looking forward to being surprised. She has had some recent injury niggles, but says she will be in top shape for the ASB Classic.