The Baseline Top 8: Sharapova's feats on clay

Maria Sharapova…clay-court specialist?

Those words don’t exactly roll off the tongue, as the 30-year-old Russian—set to return to action on Wednesday in Stuttgart—possesses a game tailor-made for fast-court success.

Her power’s translated quite well on the slower surface, too. Here’s a look at some of her notable moments on the dirt over the years.

1

Right before her stunning Wimbledon breakthrough in 2004, a 17-year-old Sharapova reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career a few weeks beforehand at the French Open.

2

At the 2005 Italian Open, Sharapova made the first clay-court semifinal of her young career. If she had won the tournament, she would’ve become No. 1 in the world.

3

Sharapova won the first clay-court title of her career at Amelia Island, beating Dominika Cibulkova in the 2005 final.

4

Sharapova, who made her initial Grand Slam breakthrough in Paris, reached her first semifinal there in 2007, losing to 2008 Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic.

5

A European clay-court breakthrough finally came when Sharapova won her first red-clay title in Strasbourg, France, over Kristina Barrois in 2010.

6

In 2011, Sharapova captured the biggest clay-court title of her career in Rome at the Italian Open over Samantha Stosur.

7

Sharapova experienced her greatest clay season in 2012, winning Stuttgart, Rome and most importantly, the French Open (over Sara Errani). Her Roland Garros victory gave her the career Grand Slam.

8

In 2014, Sharapova took the Stuttgart title for the third year in a row. She also won her second French Open over Simona Halep, making it the only major she’s captured more than once.