Maria Sharapova deserves respect for coming back after doping ban -Gunthard
In an exclusive interview with Tennis World USA the WTA Stuttgart Tournament Director Markus Gunthard commented on how the doping ban between 2016 and 2017 influenced Maria Sharapova's career. "I think so because she has been punished very hard, she was not allowed for 15 months and for somebody like her it's a really big punishment. It was a coincidence that she was able to come back to Stuttgart. She was punished for taking a banned substance and it was not a mistake or a bad move from our side to give her a wild card. She was a three-time tournament winner and she provides great entertainment and joy to the fans through her performances and she deserved this opportunity because wild card only means she can play, it does not mean anything else. Then she played well and reached the semifinals", said Gunthardt.
Did the ban influence her career in a strong way? "Absolutely. Because she is not a youngster anymore and if you take somebody two years of her career away, it's very difficult to come back. She had a great ambition to work hard, I do not think she did it because of money because she doesn't need it. She deserves all the respect for dealing with a two-year ban and many injuries."
On how important was for Stuttgart to have Sharapova, Gunthardt concluded: "She is a superstar, and to have somebody like Maria playing means to have success. And she usually played well. The first three times she played, she won the tournament. And eventually, she became a Porsche ambassador. It was something very special to have her."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2vfJdPz
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