(CNN) -- Tennis star Maria Sharapova has been handed the honor of becoming the first woman to carry Russia's flag at the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old will be competing in her first Olympics at London 2012, where she will play in the women's singles tournament.
"I wasn't aware that I am the first woman but what a personal honor to be representing Russia," she told CNN.
"I am grateful for the sincere support from my family, friends and fans from home and across the globe. I'm truly proud and humbled to represent a country that is full of hopes and dreams."
Sharapova has battled her way back to the top of women's tennis after two years of shoulder problems, returning to No. 1 in the world rankings after completing a career grand slam by winning last month's French Open.
World No. 1 Maria Sharapova shows her disappointment after losing to Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round at Wimbledon, ending the Russian's hopes of repeating her 2004 success.
Wimbledon women's singles round four
Sharapova: It's a special victory
World No. 4 Maria Sharapova has long been known for her on-court shrieks and the Russian has recently attracted criticism as a result. The three-time grand slam champion claimed she will continue to make the noises until they are outlawed.
The noisiest players in tennis
Maria Sharapova has come a long way since turning professional on her 14th birthday in April 2001, having played the game since she was four years old.
Maria Sharapova's French Open dream
She lost top spot to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus this week after a surprise defeat in the fourth round at Wimbledon dropped her to No. 3, but has the chance to make amends as the Olympic event will also be held at the famous grass-court venue.
"This year's upcoming Olympics in London holds special meaning to me as this will be my first foray into the Games," Sharapova said.
"It's a remarkable opportunity to not only compete in such a historically prestigious sporting moment, but I am looking forward to sharing this Olympic experience with fellow athletes around the world."
Sharapova, who will reportedly marry basketball star Sasha Vujacic in November after the end of the tennis season, has been based in the United States for most of her life.
She has played three times for Russia's Fed Cup team, all in quarterfinal ties, winning three of her four singles rubbers.
Sharapova did not qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Beijing, despite winning her first grand slam title at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old. She missed out in Beijing in 2008 due to injury, and compatriot Elena Dementieva -- who has since retired -- won the women's gold.
Russia first took part at the Summer Olympics in 1912, but did not appear again until 1952 as the Soviet Union. Since then the honor of carrying the flag has usually gone to male gold medal-winners.
This year, Serbia and Spain will also have a tennis star as flag-bearer as men's world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and Beijing champion Rafael Nadal have been given the role by their respective countries.
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Lisicki, who was beaten by Sharapova in last year's semifinals, was delighted after securing a quarterfinal clash with fellow German Angelique Kerber.
Eighth seed Kerber, also a quarterfinalist at last month's French Open, reached the last eight in London for the first time after beating former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters' final appearance at Wimbledon ahead of her second retirement later this year lasted less than 50 minutes as the four-time grand slam winner lost 6-1 6-1.
The American sixth seed progressed despite losing the second set against Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova on day seven at the All England Tennis Club.
The 13-time grand slam winner will next play defending champion Petra Kvitova. The Czech Republic's world No. 4 beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
Young Austrian Tamira Paszek reached the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, beating Italian 21st seed Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-2, and will next face world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka.
Paszek will hope to fare better than Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, who was thrashed 6-1 6-0 by Australian Open champion Azarenka in a one-sided battle of former top-ranked players.
Maria Kirilenko beat China's Peng Shuai to earn her second grand slam quaerterfinal appearance. The Russian will take on Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi.
Third seed Victoria Azarenka was the subject of taunts from fans at the Australian Open who began to mimic her unique screams during a second round win over home-crowd favorite Casey Dellacqua.
American Serena Williams has long been a leading light in women's tennis, in terms of winning tournaments and booming grunts. Whether the grunts benefit a player is the subject of some debate, but they certainly haven't hindered Williams. The 30-year-old has registered 13 grand slam triumphs.
It would appear that grunting runs in the family, with Venus Williams matching her sister Serena in terms of noise and top-level success. Venus, one year older than her sibling, has collected seven major titles.
Monica Seles was screaming her way to success long before any of today's professionals. The Yugoslavia-born American won nine grand slam titles during her 19-year ear-splitting career.
American Jimmy Connors has played more ATP Tour matches than anyone else, winning eight grand slams during a glittering 24-year career. Connors is also widely credited with introducing grunting to top-level tennis.
Sharapova was spotted at an early age by former great Martina Navratilova and after moving to the United States she was enrolled into the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida at the age of nine.
The Russian became the third youngest female to win Wimbledon in 2004 aged just 17. She beat Serena Williams in the final to spark huge interest the papers labelled "Maria Mania."
|