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SHARAPOVA'S FIRST WTA TITLE IN CHINA

Maria Sharapova has finally added China to the collection of countries she's won WTA titles in. How many is she at now? Which very important one is she missing?

Published October 05, 2014 12:14

BEIJING, China - A week ago, she had never won a trophy in seven career attempts at WTA events in China - five tries in Beijing, one in Shanghai, one in Wuhan. But it was eighth time lucky for Maria Sharapova this past week, as she finally won a WTA title in China in her sixth attempt in Beijing.

And Sharapova is very popular in China, too - she has 2.8 million fans on Sina Weibo, the second-most followers on that platform for a WTA player after, of course, Asia's first Grand Slam winner, Li Na.

The victory was even sweeter given she couldn't even compete at the tournament last year.

"It's so rewarding, honestly," Sharapova said in Beijing on Sunday. "At this time last year I was somewhere in Europe getting treatment for my shoulder, just trying to find different medical perspectives and advice on how to treat it and get it better. I knew I wasn't going to play for the rest of the year. I missed the US Open already, and I was going to miss the WTA Finals. It was a tough time for me, mentally - I was just in the middle of Europe trying to find a solution, yet everyone else was still playing.

"It's definitely great to be in a situation a year later where this is my fourth WTA title of the year, and a Grand Slam this year. You look back and think about how you struggled but kept going.

"It's a lot to put in perspective."

Another thing to put in perspective: China is the 14th country Sharapova has won a WTA title in...

Australia (1): 2008 Australian Open

Austria (1): 2006 Linz

Canada (1): 2003 Québec City

China (1): 2014 Beijing

England (3): 2004 Birmingham, 2004 Wimbledon, 2005 Birmingham

France (3): 2010 Strasbourg, 2012 French Open, 2014 French Open

Germany (3): 2012 Stuttgart, 2013 Stuttgart, 2014 Stuttgart

Italy (2): 2011 Rome, 2012 Rome

Japan (4): 2003 Tokyo [Japan Open], 2004 Tokyo [Japan Open], 2005 Tokyo [Pan Pacific], 2009 Tokyo [Pan Pacific]

Qatar (2): 2005 Doha, 2008 Doha

South Korea (1): 2004 Seoul

Spain (1): 2014 Madrid

Switzerland (1): 2006 Zürich

USA (9): 2004 WTA Finals, 2006 Indian Wells, 2006 San Diego, 2006 US Open, 2007 San Diego, 2008 Amelia Island, 2010 Memphis, 2011 Cincinnati, 2013 Indian Wells

** One very notable country missing from the list? Sharapova's home country of Russia. She's played the Kremlin Cup three times before - 2005, 2006 and 2007 - but never made it past the quarters.

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