Summary and Explanation of Reach for the Top Part-II (Character Sketch and Quick Revision Notes)
Character Sketches from Reach for the Top Part-II
Maria Sharapova: Maria Sharapova is among the most renowned woman tennis stars of all times who is equally admired for her game and for her attractive looks. Right from her childhood, Maria was calmer, more composed, more confident and more tolerant than other children of her age. She had immense will-power and tenacity that gave her the strength to make sacrifices few people can make. Maria has always been motivated by her spirit of competitiveness and she has always toiled hard to achieve her goals. Maria is also a true patriot.Yuri and Yelena Sharapova: Yuri and Yelena Sharapova are Maria Sharapova’s father and mother respectively. Their contribution to maria ‘s success is immense and cannot be measured in words. They identified their daughter’s potential at a very young age and decided to get her world-class training in the U.S. They knew well that it was going to be expensive and difficult, still they extended their full support to their talented daughter. Yuri worked very hard to pay for Maria’s training and Yelena tolerated the heart-wrenching separation from her dear child for two years. As parents, they displayed unflinching faith in their child’s abilities which gave Maria the boost to keep going ahead and to keep countering the challenges that came her way.
Summary of Reach for the Top Part-II
Maria Sharapova was born in Siberia, Russia, in 1987. This journey started with early training in her childhood and culminated in her becoming the number one in the world of tennis. She led a charge of Russian players who came to achieve great success in the women‘s game. She has also brought her own brand of glamour to tennis by designing her own unique tennis outfits. At the 2007 US Open she wore a dress with over 600 crystals sewn into it. Sharapova got her first tennis racket when she was four from the father of Grand Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov. At the age of six, Maria attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova. Navratilova recognized her talent and recommended that she go to the USA to study at a famous tennis academy in Florida.
Maria moved to the USA with her father in 1994. Neither of them could speak English. Apart from the pangs of separation from the mother, the child also suffered harassment from her inconsiderate fellow trainees, who were older in age. She had very little money and went to the tennis academy by bicycle every day. She described it as being a tough time. She turned professional in 2001 and a year later she bagged the women‘s singles crown at Wimbledon in 2004 and became the number one youngest girl ever to reach the final junior tennis player at Wimbledon in the world.
Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, when she was 17. She is one of several top players who are known for loud on-court grunting. When reporters asked her about this in 2006, she told them to ―put your grunt-o- meters down…and just watch the match.
Hard work, dedication, and mental courage paved the way to success for Sharapova. Imbued with patriotic sentiments, she feels proud to be a Russian. Though grateful to the U.S. for bringing out the best in her, she would like to represent her own country Russia at the Olympics.
Although Maria is fond of fashion, singing, and dancing, she focuses all her attention on tennis. She considers tennis as both a business and a sport, which has poured riches in her life. However, her main aim is to shine as a tennis player. It is this aspiration that constantly governs her mind and motivates her for ceaseless efforts. Now, Sharapova has been the world‘s highest paid sportswoman and the women‘s number one several times.
Maria moved to the USA with her father in 1994. Neither of them could speak English. Apart from the pangs of separation from the mother, the child also suffered harassment from her inconsiderate fellow trainees, who were older in age. She had very little money and went to the tennis academy by bicycle every day. She described it as being a tough time. She turned professional in 2001 and a year later she bagged the women‘s singles crown at Wimbledon in 2004 and became the number one youngest girl ever to reach the final junior tennis player at Wimbledon in the world.
Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, when she was 17. She is one of several top players who are known for loud on-court grunting. When reporters asked her about this in 2006, she told them to ―put your grunt-o- meters down…and just watch the match.
Hard work, dedication, and mental courage paved the way to success for Sharapova. Imbued with patriotic sentiments, she feels proud to be a Russian. Though grateful to the U.S. for bringing out the best in her, she would like to represent her own country Russia at the Olympics.
Although Maria is fond of fashion, singing, and dancing, she focuses all her attention on tennis. She considers tennis as both a business and a sport, which has poured riches in her life. However, her main aim is to shine as a tennis player. It is this aspiration that constantly governs her mind and motivates her for ceaseless efforts. Now, Sharapova has been the world‘s highest paid sportswoman and the women‘s number one several times.
Quick Revision Notes
- Maria Sharapova was born in Siberia, Russia, in 1987. She led a charge of Russian players who came to achieve great success in the women’s game.
- She has brought her own brand of glamour to tennis by designing her own unique tennis outfits.
- At the 2007 US Open, she wore a dress with over 600 crystals sewn into it.
- She got her first tennis racket when she was four from the father of Grand Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
- At the age of six, she attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recognized her talent and recommended that she should go to the USA to study at a famous tennis academy in Florida.
- She moved to the USA with her father in 1994. Neither of them could speak English. They had very little money and went to the tennis academy by bicycle every day.
- She turned professional in 2001 and a year later became the youngest girl ever to reach the junior final at Wimbledon.
- She won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon when she was 17. She is one of several top players who are known for loud on-court grunting. She has been the world’s highest-paid sportswoman and the women’s number one several times.