The French Open title will remain with Maria Sharapova forever, but for now she has to forget it and focus on Wimbledon, the four-time Grand Slam champion told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
The world No. 1 beat Sara Errani in straight sets to complete her career Grand Slam, and though the 25-year-old is still basking in the glory, she is well aware there is serious work ahead for Wimbledon.
"I understand that this victory will be with me forever," Sharapova said. "But, of course, when you come here, after a couple of days' rest it starts all over again."
But for the second-successive year, Sharapova is skipping warmup tournaments at Eastbourne, Birmingham or the Netherlands to play at SW19 in her first grass-court event of the season.
"The main thing is, I thought about my health," Sharapova said. "I tried to plan my tournaments knowing that I have a lot of experience and an understanding of how my body reacts," she said.
"I tried not to enter too many tournaments, especially ahead of this one."
Sharapova takes on Moscow-born Australian Anastasia Rodionova in the first round.
"I know her, I played against her in Cincinnati last year and won," Sharapova said. "But a whole year has gone by, so you could say this is like a first encounter. It'll be the first round on grass, it's always the hardest," she said.
The championships run June 25 through July 8.
