French Open: Sara Errani’s years of sacrifice finally paying off

Published on 09/06/2012 00:50

WHEN Maria Sharapova’s opponent in the French Open final, Sara Errani, was 12 years old, she struck out on her own, leaving behind her family in Italy and heading off to Nick Bollettieri’s famed tennis academy in Florida.

Far from her parents, and not yet able to speak English well, Errani stuck it out for about ten months, crying nearly every day. She called home a lot. “I knew she was determined and focused,” her mother, Fulvia, said after watching Errani win her first Grand Slam semi-final, “so I knew she would figure things out.”

Now 25, Errani most certainly has. She figured out she needed to go back to Europe, eventually to Spain. She figured out how to overcome the limitations of a 5ft 4in frame in a sport filled with taller, harder hitters - such as the 6ft 2in Sharapova, a three-time major champion who will be standing across the net today at Roland Garros with the title at stake.

Mostly, Errani figured out that it made no sense to worry about whether she would ever be good enough to beat the best and instead focused on always improving. “It’s not a question of believing or not believing. I don’t think about that. I just think about playing. I just think about going on court and giving my all. And whatever happens, happens. I’ve never thought, ‘I can’t beat someone in the top 10’. I play and give my best, and if I don’t win, I don’t win,” Errani explained. “But I don’t think about whether I can win the title. I just think about the next match. If I win, then I think about the next one. And if I win again, then the next one. But I don’t think too far ahead. That doesn’t help a player. It’s better to take it a step at a time.”