Sharapova willing to take the punches

Maria Sharapova, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning Roland Garros, says winning a major on clay three-and-a-half years after her shoulder surgery shows how resilient she is.

"I proved that no matter how many punches I took in my career, I've always gotten back up," she said. "I never made excuses for me, not to myself, not to people. I always relied on my own talent, on the help of my team. At the end of the day, that's really what gets me through and gets me up. I have a tremendous amount of belief and pride in what I do. I love my work. I've always said this: I love playing tennis. I had so many outs in my career. I could have said, I don't need this. I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams. But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it's freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn't there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don't listen to all those things."