Billie Jean King: January 2008 Archives

I was glad to see Maria Sharapova win the Australian Open singles title over the weekend. She is a worthy champion who, at the age of 20, has already won three of tennis' grand slam tournaments with wins in 2004 at Wimbledon and 2006 at the US Open.

But what I am even more happy about is that she seems to be a thoughtful champion as well which she displayed during her post-match speech in Melbourne when she told the crowd that a text message from the great Billie Jean King that morning had been inspirational. It read: "Champions take their chances and pressure is a privilege."

Sharapova said she carried Billie Jean's theme onto the court against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic. .
"I had those great words in my mind during the match," Maria said.

"She's always a person who texts me if I have a tough moment or a great win."

Billie Jean won the Australian Open way back in 1968 - one of 12 grand slam singles titles which also included six Wimbledons, four U.S. Opens and a French Open crown. She first met Maria at a juniors tournament when the Russian was 13.

"From that point on, she's just always been really supportive," Sharapova said. "She's always one of the first people to text me when either I'm having a tough moment or a great win."