#claypova

"This is the toughest Grand Slam final I've ever played and all credit to Simona, who played a terrific match," Sharapova said on court.

When she won the 2008 Australian Open, Sharapova shared a text she had received from Billie Jean King: "Champions take chances and pressure is a privilege." Few embody that more than Sharapova. She is toughest when the pressure is the greatest. Or as Judy Murray put it:

Sharapova is like a tea bag. Put her into hot water and ul find out how strong she is.

— judy murray (@judmoo)

June 3, 2014

Sharapova is like a tea bag. Put her into hot water and ul find out how strong she is.

You will never see Sharapova back down or, as David Ferrer admitted Wednesday, throw in the towel. While many have and will retreat, she'll stare you straight in the eye and fire more laser forehands. She hunkers down, she grinds and fist-pumps it out. She might not win the match, and her decidedly unsubtle game only gets more blunt, but she'll only go out giving it her all.

Of course, she usually wins. Sharapova has won 20 consecutive three-set matches on clay since 2010 and boasts a 142-43 career three-set record. She came back from a set and the brink down for three straight matches coming into Saturday's clash, which was the first three-set women's final in Paris since 2001 and the second longest ever at three hours and two minutes.

Saturday's thriller was also Sharapova's first three-set Grand Slam final in nine appearances. Like her yin-yang on- and off-court personas, it's another great Sharapova irony. And it's fitting that she had to dig way deep to claim her second title at the one major many once believed she would never win.

"It’s such an emotional victory for me, in my career. I feel like as I get older I appreciate these situations much more," she said. "I can actually say it is the most emotional victory in my career. I don't think anyone is born a great clay court player– well unless you are called Rafael Nadal – I had to do the work on my own, with my team. Thinking that I won a match where I had to run so much, and play so many rallies makes it special. I didn't think I was ever going to manage to do that." As fun and jaw-dropping it is to see GOAT athletes in their prime dominate and destroy the field, it's even more awe-inspiring to watch them gut out victories when their backs are against the wall. It's in those tough moments that we see who people truly are.

So, yes, Sharapova is a pretty face. She's also a pretty fantastic tennis player. But above all, she's a pretty fucking great fighter.