"I'll remember Maria for her sheer competitiveness" - Martina Navratilova on Sharapova's legacy

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova took some time to divulge her thoughts on the fighting spirit and career of Maria Sharapova.

Following her retirement from professional tennis, numerous colleagues and followers of the sport have all chimed in with their thoughts on the five-time Grand Slam champion.

However, very few are as qualified as Navratilova, as the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion holds the record for most combined titles won by a male or female in the Open Era (359).

Navratilova praised Sharapova's competitive spirit and mental toughness, describing her as one of the toughest to ever play the sport.

"Above all else, Maria Sharapova was a competitor on the tennis court, as intense and as ferocious as anyone who has ever played the sport". Navratilova said. "And while competitiveness is celebrated in men, and seen as a big plus, women are quite often put down for it. I can relate to that, and I think that was sometimes tough for Sharapova.

But Sharapova, who announced last week that she was saying goodbye to tennis, didn't ever change who she was as a person, or let go of who she was as an athlete, just because other people didn't happen to like her competitive nature. Let me put it this way, you wouldn't have wanted her as your opponent, she wouldn't take her foot off the gas even for a moment".

Sharapova's public image

Navratilova speculated that Sharapova wasn't in tennis to win popularity contests, either with the public or with her peers. Furthermore, she stated that the Russian wasn't always as appreciated as she could have been, but she did what she needed to win, and that worked for her.

She went on to elaborate that Sharapova never lost any of her mental toughness, and that carried her through the final years of her career. Navratilova also implied that Sharapova's two French Open titles were her most impressive achievement, because she was never naturally good on clay and had to work extremely hard to conquer it.

Sharapova went on to improve her all-around game, incorporating drop-shots and volleys with her powerful groundstrokes. But her should surgeries hampered her overall game, and according to Navratilova "....when your serve isn’t there for you, it really bleeds into the rest of your game both physically and emotionally".

Sharapova's rivalry with Serena Williams

Navratilova believed that the Russian just did not match up well against her American opponent. She also implied that her record against Serena would partly define her career.

"Sharapova will be partly judged by her record against Serena Williams." Navratilova said. "Unfortunately for Sharapova, you can be the most mentally tough player in the world but sometimes there will be a player you just don't match up that well against, and that was Williams.

That match-up against Williams just didn't favor her, particularly as the American certainly served a lot better. Sharapova was good enough against everyone else but Williams always got up for her matches against the Russian. To her credit, Sharapova never relented in those matches, that wasn't in her nature".

Regardless of her record against Serena, Navratilova believes the five-time Grand Slam champion displayed tremendous fighting spirit that is present in only a select few individuals.

"I'll remember Sharapova's career for her sheer competitiveness, for her never giving anything less than her absolute best".

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