By: Matt DeCorso

Vera, Marion, and Ashley have really made a mark on the Tour this year. Although, Maria Sharapova seems to have made the biggest impact of all! In the following I will take you through the most magical season this young Russian has had in her fledgling career! ENJOY!!

Maria started off the year withoutplaying any warm up events or even challengers. She threw herself right into combat at the Australian Open! She had to qualify but she found a way! In the first round she was to play 10th seeded Czech, Renata Voracova. Masha dispatched her 6-3 7-5. In the second round she played experienced countrywoman, Maria Goloviznina. Sharapova had no trouble in defeating her 6-3 6-2. In the final round of the qualies, Maria was up against another Czech, this time, Alena Vaskova. Once again, Maria was flawless in a 6-1 6-2 win. She had finally made her Grand Slam debut! In the first round of the main draw she played fellow qualifier and Czech, Klara Koukalova. Maria had chances but Klara sealed the win 6-4 7-6, and would go on to beat former champ Monica Seles in the next round. After Maria was defeated, she played doubles. As a wildcard team with Marion Bartoli, they beat the odds and thrashed Eleni Daniilidou and Caroline Vis 6-3 6-4. They were beaten in the second round by second seeds, Ruano Pascual and Suarez 6-3 2-6 6-1! Australia was the beginning of the Sharapova empire and not a lot of people noticed but, the Russians were COMING!!!

In February, Maria played an ITF event. She played no Tour events but saw her ranking climb to a career high 153!

In March, Maria returned to Indian Wells where as a 14 year old she had found success last year. Sadly, as a wildcard, Maria was tossed aside by American Sarah Taylor 6-3 1-6 6-0. The same fate befell her the next week in Miami as Belgian veteran Els Callens passed Sharapova, 6-1 7-6. This time she played doubles. 15 year old Sharapova paired with 17 year old Ashley Harkleroad and they were defeated in three topsy turvy sets 6-1 2-6 6-0!

In April, young Maria attempted to qualify for the Tier 1 event in Charleston. In the first round she defeated the pesky Japanese player, Akiko Morigami 7-5 5-7 6-4. It was a great match for Sharapova as her confidence was kind of low. In the second round she played solid in a 7-5 6-4 win over Julia Vakulenko which got her into the main draw! In the first round she played crafty Slovenian Maja Matevzic. The clay suited to the Slovene better as she won 6-4 5-7 6-2. It was a fairly good week for Sharapova and she was really looking forward to her 16th birthday which would fall the next week.

In May Maria played the Sea Island Challenger event and won it!! In her first round, she played Julie Ditty, the American, and tore her apart 6-2 6-2. In the second round Masha took care of Hungarian qualifier Petra Rampre 6-3 6-2. In the quarterfinals Maria withstood the onslaught of Kristina Brandi and pulled out a 2-6 7-5 6-2 victory! The semifinals was probably one of the most anticipated matches in a long time. Maria Sharapova versus Anna Kournikova. They would be battling for more than money out there. Fans, the finals, and most of all, the most beautiful Russian! Sharapova won without striking a ball as Anna pulld out with an injury. In the finals, Maria played 7th seed Aussie Christina Wheeler and made quick work of her 6-4 6-3.

After her amazing week in Georgia, Sharapova was off to Roland Garros. As she did in Melbourne, she had to qualify. In the first round she played number 4 seed and fellow Russian, Anastassia Rodionova. Maria cruised with a 6-3 6-3 win! In the second round Maria was to play Venezuelan Maria Vento Kabchi. Sharapova again dominated with a 6-3 6-1 win. In the final round of qualifying, the fans witnessed a marathon match in which Sharapova miraculously beat Yulia Beygelzimer 6-7 7-6 8-6. It took all of her strength to win but again she made her 2nd Grand Slam debut. In the first round of the main draw, Masha played accomplished clay courter Magui Serna and promtly fell 6-3 6-3. It was a pretty good debut but Maria will be anxious to do better in 2004!

Since Wimbledon was a few weeks away, the youngster decieded to play in Birmingham, England. In the first round of qualifying, Maria whipped British wildcard Sarah Borwell 6-1 6-3. In the final round of qualifying Maria beat Christina Wheeler again by the same score that she beat her by in Sea Island to advance to the main draw. Little did she know that her week would be one of the best of her career! In the first round Masha played ambidextrious countrywoman, Evgenia Koulikovskaya. Even though Maria's foe had two forehands, she still prevailed 6-1 6-1. In the second round Maria played world number 24 Nathalie Dechy. Maria collected her best career win with a 6-3 6-2 win! In the third round Sharapova played Swiss prodigy Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian. The Russian prodigy proved to be better as she had a comfortable 6-0 7-5 victory. This marked Maria's first ever appearance in a quarterfinal on the Tour! In the quarters, Maria went up against world number 15, number 1 seed, number 1 Russian, Elena Dementieva! This was to be "Shrieking Sharapova"'s exit but something amazing happened. The 16 year old came through with a grueling 2-6 7-6 6-2 nailbiter! Everyone in England was taking note of this young Russian teen. With a booming serve, solid groundies, and a shriek that compares her to Monica Seles, people thought she would win the title and go on and perform well at Wimbledon! In the semis Sharapova played Japan's Shinobu Asagoe. Maria had so many chances it was painful to watch but Asagoe stuck through it and beat Masha 6-2 2-6 7-6!! It was Maria's first ever semi but she was mature beyond her years and shocked the whole world! Could those shocks be heard at Wimbledon?

The answer to that question is....YOU BET YOUR BUM IT WAS!!!! She did reach a career high rank of 88 after Birmingham but was now 91. As a wildcard, she played America's sweety Ashley Harkleroad. The grunts in this contest could be heard from miles away. In the end, the loudest grunt and the win went to Sharapova 6-2 6-1. Not bad for her debut at the third Slam of the year and career! In the second round Maria faced countrywoman and number 21 seed, Elena Bovina. Again the grunts and the match went to Supernova 6-3 6-1! This was her best Slam showing of the year. In the third round Sharapova was destined to be crushed by Jelena Dokic but Sharapova was on cruise control as she crushed the 11th seed 6-4 6-4. By reaching the fourth round Maria was part of 2 records. First, she matched the best showing by a female wildcard at the event. Maria's name was added along with Zina Garrison in 1982, Anne Smith in 1985, and Samantha Smith in 1998. She was also one of five Russians in the 4th round along with Zvonareva, Myskina, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova. She was the youngest at 16! In the 4th round Maria was up against Svetlana Kuznetsova. This was a career best Grand Slam result but in the end, Sharapova lost a heartbreaker 6-1 2-6 7-5! Once again, Maria had a shot at winning but in the end it was Svetlana with more firepower! Maria's tournament was over but she was labelled as a future winner of this event. Her shrieks will never stop sounding on Center Court!

After Wimbly Maria's ranking shot up to a new career high, 56! Her first tourney after Wimbledon was in Los Angeles. In the first round Sharapova rocked world number 36 Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 6-1. In her second round match she played fellow Russian and 14th seed, Nadia Petrova. This was a thrilling encounter that was finally won by the younger Russian 6-2 2-6 7-5. In the third round, people thought that Maria was probably too tired to play world number 2 (soon to be number 1 after this event) Kim Clijsters. Masha put their doubts to rest as she made Kim work hard for the win finally going down 6-4 1-6 6-1!

Following her great run in L.A. Maria headed up to Canada for the prestigious, Canadian Open as the world's number 54 player. In the first round she was drawn against world number 36 and compatriot, Elena Likhovtseva. I watched this match on television and Maria owned the first set but got nervous in the breaker. Elena was injured in the second set but Sharapova was too frustrated and lost the set and the match 7-6 6-1. The highlight of the match was when Maria cracked a screaming forehand down the line and it hit the net POST and trickled over! The next tournament on the list was the U.S. Open! How did Maria do?

Flushing Meadows looked very inviting and so did Maria Sharapova! Maria was stunning in a 6-1 6-1 drubbing of soon to be doubles winner, Virginia Ruano Pascual! In the second round, people had so much enthusiasm for Maria that they forgot to heed Emilie Loit. Loit was injured but proved too pesky for the young Russian and beat Sharapova 6-3 6-4. It was a humid night and the rowdy New York crowd wanted to see their girl go far but unfortunately they didn't! For a long time Maria put away her doubles shoes but here in the Big Apple she brought 'em back!! As a wildcard team with Lisa Raymond, they snuck past Alina Jidkova and Akiko Morigami 7-6 7-6 with both women producing some outstanding tennis! In the second round Martina Navratilova and Svetlana Kuznetsova put them away 6-2 6-2. New York was fun but not as fun as the weeks to come!!

After New York Maria dashed to Shanghai for the Polo Open as the world number 52. In the first round Masha got revenge on her U.S. Open conqueror Emilie Loit by defeating the 7th seed 6-3 6-7 6-3. In the second round Sharapova needed three sets to advance past Spaniard Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 4-6 6-3 6-4. In the quarterfinals Maria was dealt some revenge by Elena Dementieva who beat Maria 6-4 7-6. In the doubles Sharapova partnered Rossana Neffa de-los Rios. The long last names didn't intimdate Conchita Martinez and Angelique Widjaja as the Spanish/Indonesian duo crushed the youngster and her partner 7-5 6-3.

Off to Japan went Maria Sharapova, not expecting a whole heck of a lot to happen. But on the contrary, A LOT did happen. As the world number 48 in the first round, Masha took on Korean lucky loser, Jin-hee Kim. Sharapova had no problems in throwing aside her opponent 6-2 6-0. In the second round Maria played home town favorite Akiko Morigami. Again, Masha destroyed her Asian counterpart 6-1 6-3. In the quarterfinals Maria faced her toughest opponent yet in Claudine Schaul. Sharapova played a strong mental game and broke down the Luxembourg native by narrowly escaping with a 7-5 7-6 win. In the semifinals Masha played Chinese wonder Jie Zheng. Zheng put up great resistance but the Sharapova shrieker broke down that force field and found herself in her first ever WTA Tour final!! In the final Maria played Hungarian teen Aniko Kapros. It was one of the best matches of the year as Maria won her first title by defeating Kapros 2-6 6-2 7-6! That's not all though. Maria played doubles with Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn. In the first round Masha collected another win over Kim as she and Tammy beat Kim and Chang 6-3 6-2. In the quarterfinals the women were to play number 2 seeded Slovenes, Tina Krizan and Katarina Srebotnik! It was a great encounter with the Russian/Thai combo just inching out a 7-6 4-6 6-1 victory! In the semifinals they gave the crowd another amazing show as they literally STOLE the match from Zi Yan and Jie Zheng, escaping with a 6-3 5-7 7-6 win! In the finals they played the American team of Harkleroad and Cargill. They were both in their first doubles final as was Masha. The experience from Tammy helped as Maria and her won 7-6 6-0! It was a great "double-double" for Maria and she will remember that week for the rest of her life!!

Luxembourg was Maria's next destination. She went into the 1st round ranked 37 ( a career high) and the 5th seed. Her opponent was talented Belgian wildcard, Kirsten Flipkens. This was a very impressive match in which Maria pulled out all of the stops, winning 6-2 7-6. In the second round Sharapova went up against Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson. Again, Maria played strong in a 6-1 7-6 win! In the quarterfinals Masha played the always tough Anca Barna. Anca proved tough for Maria in the early goings but soon Maria found her weakness and moved in for the win. The score was in favor of the Russian Teen 4-6 6-3 6-2. In the semifinals Maria was due to play world number 1 Kim Clijsters. This time Clijsters dispatched her with ease 6-0 6-3. Again, Maria played doubles with Tammy Tanasugarn. In the first round Masha and Tammy ruined the German team of Frye and Roesch by whipping them 6-2 6-2. In the quarters they played Krizan and Srebotnik again. This time the Russian and the Thai figured out the Slovenes and trounced them 6-4 6-3. The semifinals was their toughest match of the whole week as they had a hard time beating the unheralded team of Galina Fokina and Mariya Koryttseva 7-6 6-7 6-0. In the finals they had no problems in taking out Elena Tatarkova and Marlene Weingartner 6-1 6-4. Again it was another dazzling performance by Maria Sharapova but what was to come?

In Maria's last event of the season she chose Quebec City! As world number 32 (career high) and the second seed, she was expected to win for the first time in her young career! She got a bye in the first round but in the second round she played the woman who beat her in Miami. As Els Callens had done to Masha in Miami, Maria handily beat Callens 6-4 6-3. In the quarterfinals Maria Sharapova ripped through fellow Russian Alina Jidkova 6-1 6-2. The semifinals was again her most difficult hurdle. It may have been a bit inconsistent but Maria took advantage of Laura Granville by winning their semi 1-6 6-2 6-2. In the finals Maria played the other Venezuelan Milagros Sequera. Milagros was injured and after Maria won the first set 6-2, she couldn't continue. It was a bad way to win, admitted Maria but she was still happy with the fan support. She played doubles with Marion Bartoli and they beat Cargill and Grant easily before losing out to Tian Tian Sun and Ting Li.

In closing, it was a great year for Russians, especially Maria. I thought she played well in mostly all of her matches this year! The one thing I can comment on is when she plays the big players! She lost to Clijsters easily in Luxembourg and she really and truly has the game to beat anyone in the world! Next year I have one tip for Maria! Hey Masha! I thought you had a great season and you fulfilled your potential. The only thing I can say is, you have to know when to use your "arsenal". You have a variety of amazing shots but you don't know when to use them! You have an amazing serve, great groundstrokes, and a grunt that you should be proud of!Thanks everyone!!