(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Afterwards, she hugged the Rosewater dish, kind of like any teenage girl might hug her favorite teddy bear.
She was no Kournikova clone. Not on the court anyway.
When Sharapova was faced with a career-threatening injury almost a year ago, she once again faced a challenge she hadn’t met before; one that wasn’t going away, forcing her to take the longest break of her career.
For those who have been through a rehab assignment of any sort, the importance of having a strong supporting cast of family and friends around them can’t be overvalued, and for Sharapova it was no different.
“It took a lot of good people around me and a good team that kept me going and kept me positive, Sharapova said. "There were definitely a few setbacks during that time period and you always wonder when you’re going to come back."
Now Sharapova is back and if familiar surroundings is what she needs to help in her quest to return to the top, then there’s no better place for her to be than leafy South West London.
In the four tournaments since her return, Sharapova has performed well, but has only made it as far as the semi-finals once. One of the problems with her game has been her ability to serve.
Once her strongest weapon, she has had to revamp it in an effort to prevent further injury to her shoulder.
And that’s a good thing as Sharapova knows that power isn’t the only way to win matches.
“Sometimes it doesn’t take your best to win something, sometimes it takes something different, being smarter than [your opponent] and maybe a little bit of luck, that always helps, but it’s a combination of things coming together at the right time."
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