Don’t Call It a Comeback

The 2012 French Open ended a week ago, you say?  Well, I’m still basking in the afterglow. Hundreds of lines have already been devoted to Mash, so what’s another couple?  It’s no secret Maria’s road to #1 and Career Slam glory has been a long one, with naysayers popping up left and right, dating back to 2008. Let’s jump in the time machine and see what they had to say then, and where this journey ended up.

2008:  Danger, danger Will Robinson!
Sharapova and Roddick Slump Out: “Sharapova certainly looked very fragile on Thursday and, for the second grand slam running she had no one but herself to blame for her listless performance.”

2009:  Ouch.
Will the full whooping Maria Sharapova ever be seen again?:: “At the moment she cuts a sorry sight, a pale reflection of her former self, especially when serving. Neither is she prepared to speculate when she may able to play at full whooping tilt again. Some believe that if she has not recovered by the time of the US Open in August it may signal the end.”

2010:  Nearly there…I think.  Nope, not there.
Sharapova Likely Will Never Win Another Slam: “She’s only 23, but after this tournament, the question can be asked: Will she ever win another major? On this [2010 US Open] evidence, I’d say no. Too many things can go wrong with her game now, from the service toss to the most routine forehand. She’s always played on the risky edge, but no one gets more accurate as they get older.”

2011:  Comeback complete!
Australian Open 2011: “As the German danced, having just flicked Maria Sharapova out of Melbourne Park for the loss of only five games in a lopsided fourth-round match, there was no avoiding the thought that the Siberian may never win another grand slam title.”

French Open Day 12: “Maria Sharapova will likely never have a clearer path toward her first French Open title and the career Grand Slam. Alas, it wasn’t enough…”

Now: The Promised Land (of Clay)
Sharapova Final Transcript: ” I had so many outs in my career. I could have said, I don’t need this. I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams. But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it’s freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn’t there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don’t listen to all those things.”

Never mind, you can totally call it a comeback.