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Sharapova first Russian woman to hold top spot
Maria Sharapova will take this kind of wake-up call every day.
Sharapova awoke Monday to a phone call from her father saying, "Good
morning, champion." The Russian teen had taken over the WTA Tour's
No. 1 ranking from Lindsay Davenport, who had held the top spot since
October.
"This is something I've dreamed of all my life," Sharapova said. "It's
just an amazing fact to be No. 1 in world. Topping it off, I am the
first Russian. I'm so excited that I could achieve it."
Sharapova is the 15th player and the first Russian to be No. 1 since
the tour began its computer rankings in 1975. At 18, she's also the
fifth youngest to hold the top spot, following Martina Hingis, Monica
Seles, Tracy Austin and Steffi Graf.
The No. 1 ranking means she'll likely be the top seed in the U.S. Open,
which begins next Monday. The draw is Wednesday.
"It's a good feeling to have going on the court knowing you've achieved
this," she said.
Sharapova knew 10 days ago that she'd jump a spot to No. 1 when this
week's rankings were released. She could have overtaken Davenport with
a victory at the JPMorgan Chase Open but had to withdraw before the
quarterfinals because of a strained chest muscle.
She skipped last weekend's Rogers Cup in Toronto because of the same
injury. But Davenport didn't play the Rogers Cup, either, because of
a lower back injury, and she didn't have enough points to stay ahead
of Sharapova this week.
Davenport dropped a spot to No. 2. The Californian has been No. 1 for
82 weeks -- although not consecutively -- during her career.
"The fact you are No. 1, it just puts a smile on your face," said
Sharapova, who got congratulatory text messages from friends all over
the world along with seven bouquets of flowers.
"It's an amazing achievement. That's all I really can say," she said.
Sharapova has made a stunning rise, climbing from outside the top 100
to No. 1 in a little over two years. She won Wimbledon at 17 in 2004
and has won six titles in the last 12 months. She also won the season
-ending title at the Tour Championships last year.
She is 43-7 this year and has reached at least the semifinals in eight
of her last 11 WTA Tour events.
Though Sharapova hasn't played since withdrawing from the JPMorgan Chase,
she said she's going into the U.S. Open in good shape. She spent her
unexpected time off in Los Angeles, doing physical therapy and practicing.
The injury isn't from overuse, either. Sharapova recently discovered
that she'd grown another inch -- she's now 6-foot-2 -- since March, and
the rest of her body is catching up.
"I always say I think things happen for a reason," she said. "The injury
gave me some good time to work on my strength and physical form, which is
good."
Sharapova is one of four Russians in the top 10. France's Amelie Mauresmo,
a semifinalist loser in Toronto, remained No. 3 and Belgium's Kim Clijsters
jumped four spots to No. 4 after winning the Rogers Cup.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is No. 5, followed by Elena Dementieva, Justine Henin-
Hardenne, Serena Williams, Nadia Petrova and Venus Williams.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2140058
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Extraordinary on-court performances lift Russian star to the Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour's World No.1 ranking for the first time in her
career; 18-year-old pro is fifth-youngest No.1 ever and first
Russian woman to reach the top spot ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's newest megastar, Maria Sharapova, ascended
to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's World No.1 ranking Monday, becoming
the fifth-youngest player ever and first Russian woman to hold the
top spot and adding yet another milestone to her already long list
of remarkable accomplishments.
Sharapova, who first captivated the tennis world by winning the 2004
Wimbledon singles title at age 17 and went onto win the 2004 Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche, has been posted
consistently strong results this year and six singles titles during the
past 12 months, pushing her past Lindsay Davenport atop the latest Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour rankings released today. Davenport had held the No.1
ranking for 44 consecutive weeks from Oct. 18, 2004.
At 18 years and four months, Sharapova becomes the fifth-youngest player
to reach No.1 since Tour rankings were created in 1975, behind Martina
Hingis (1997), Monica Seles (1991), Tracy Austin (1980) and Steffi Graf
(1987), who were all at least 18 years and two months or younger when
they reached No.1. The Russian teen also becomes the 15th top-ranked
player in women's tennis history, joining a distinguished list that is
comprised of Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Serena
Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clijsters, Jennifer
Capriati, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Amélie Mauresmo, Monica Seles, Steffi
Graf, Martina Hingis and Davenport.
"When you look at the incredible competitiveness and depth in women's
tennis these days, it's really amazing to be No.1 in the world. It's a
dream come true," Sharapova said. "I know there is a lot of responsibility
that comes along with being No.1 and I want to represent women's tennis
with the same class and style as the other great players, like Steffi
Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Lindsay and the
others."
"Maria has proven herself to be a great champion on and off the court,"
said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott, who presented Sharapova with
a special World No.1 crystal trophy made by Waterford (pictured).
"Maria's fantastic play, commercial success and ability to serve as a great
role model is helping to propel women's tennis to new highs in popularity."
"On behalf of all of us at Sony Ericsson, I would like to congratulate
Maria on achieving this extremely impressive milestone so early in her
career," Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint said.
Sharapova, who was ranked outside the Top 100 a little more than two
years ago, has rocketed to the top of the game by winning six titles
in the past 12 months in addition to the 2004 Wimbledon singles title
and the prestigious season-ending 2004 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Championships presented by Porsche.
This year alone, after starting the year at No.4, she has reached at
least the semifinals in eight of her 11 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events,
winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, the Qatar Total Open in
Doha and the DFS Classic in Birmingham, as well as reaching the final
of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. Her 43-7 match record is among the
best in the game this season.
Sharapova has also recently scored big off-court, signing endorsement
deals with Motorola, Canon, Tag Heuer, Honda, Parlux fragrances and
Colgate-Palmolive, making her one of the highest-paid athletes in women's
professional sports. In addition, Sharapova recently appeared on the
cover of prestigious publications such as Forbes magazine and ESPN The
Magazine, as well as in People magazine's famous 50 Most Beautiful
People issue. She also was a nominee for the Laureus Sports Awards'
coveted 2004 World Sportswoman of the Year.
http://www.wtatour.com/newsroom/stories/NewsArticle_7838_rx.asp
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