Maria Sharapova won all four of the Grand Slam titles on offer in professional tennis and is one of the best female players to have ever played the game.
The Russian performer burst onto the scene in 2001 as a talented teenager who had dedicated her young life to becoming one of the world’s best tennis players.
In 2004, as a 17-year-old, she stunned the world by defeating Serena Williams to become a Wimbledon champion in one of the great shocks ever seen on Centre Court.
Sharapova put in the hard yards as a youngster though, and there were some games against the greats of the game that left her wondering about her credentials as a top player.
Monica Seles made Maria Sharapova cry in 2002
Some years after her career had come to an end, Sharapova was quizzed on her toughest opponent and unsurprisingly, she cited Williams.
However, it was also a chance for her to reflect on a particular match at the Indian Wells event in 2002 when she was simply obliterated by Seles.
In an interview with the Never Stand Still podcast in 2022, Sharapova was asked about her toughest opponent and despite naming Williams, she recalled a time when Seles made her cry.
She said: “When I was young, I lost to Monica Seles, like 6-2, 6-0 at Indian Wells and I actually thought I’d played a really good match and I came off the court and I was just bawling. I don’t know if I was sixteen maybe seventeen and I said to my dad who was my coach at the time, I really thought I’d played well. I just got completely torn apart.”
Sharapova is underrated in the modern era
Although she didn’t claim a glut of Grand Slam titles, such as Williams with 23 or Seles herself with nine, Sharapova did a lot for the game of tennis.
As a talented youngster, she inspired a generation and stood toe to toe with the giants of the game, such as Williams, on many occasions.
Sharapova was perhaps unlucky not to win more than the five she actually managed to win and she did reach a further five Grand Slam finals during her career.
The player was correctly inducted into the Hall of Fame and it’s remarkable that someone of her quality was left in tears by Seles before she went on to achieve so much in the game.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
