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Watching Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva contest the 2004 French Open final lit a fire in Maria Sharapova’s belly, one that saw her lift the Wimbledon trophy just a month later.
During her latest appearance on the 'The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly' podcast, Sharapova revealed that she was watching the final with a fellow Russian at the Birmingham Open, joking that she got upset that someone else from her country would win a Grand Slam.
"It was the first warm-up tournament in Birmingham and they were showing the final of the French Open," Maria Sharpova recalled (21.48). "I was sitting in a hotel room with a Russian colleague that was also playing the same tournament and there were two Russians playing that final in Paris."
"Just watching the TV and knowing that there was going to be a Russian woman holding that trophy, I honestly just wanted it to be me and I was so upset that it was happening to somebody else," she added.
Sharapova said watching Myskina and Dementieva made her realise her own competitive spirit and fuelled her in the lead-up to the now-famous Wimbledon Championships triumph — where she beat Serena Williams in the final.
"I remember speaking with the colleague, also named Maria, just telling her how this should be us like we should be in the final," Maria Sharapova said (22.20).
"Why are these two girls in the final. So I already had that competitive spirit in me and I was training for that Wimbledon victory without even knowing it," she added.
"The 2004 French Open was where I made my mark" - Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova also reflected on her run to the 2004 French Open quarterfinal, saying it was a big result given the Grand Slam stage. She said during the same podcast:
"The [2004] French Open and we, it was actually the first Grand Slam quarterfinal that I'd been in," Maria Sharapova said (21.22). "So, it was a big event for me. It was a big result for me."
The Russian said while people had expectations of her, not many saw her achieving big results on clay. She reiterated that the French Open was where she made a name for herself even before her now-famous Wimbledon victory.
"People expected good things for me," the former World No. 1 said (21.40). "Perhaps not on the clay courts, but it was where I made my mark where I felt like, wow, okay. I got to the quarterfinal, baby steps, and moving in the right direction."
Notably, Sharapova won the French Open in 2012 to complete her Career Grand Slam. She would go on to lift a second French Open title two years later, making it the only Slam that she had won on more than one occasion.
