Maria Sharapova arrived in the United States in 1994 with a paltry $700 in her pocket and the dream of one day playing on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

It took the Siberian-born teenager just 10 years to fulfil that ambition.

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"Well definitely the move to the U.S. was an amazing sacrifice. I mean, you either win or you lose," the Russian said following her third-round victory on the famed arena.

"It's a 50-50 chance that you're going to play on Centre Court at Wimbledon a few years later. So you just never know what can happen."

With aspirations to make it as a top professional, the seven-year-old Sharapova left her mother behind in Russia to move to Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Florida.

The school already had a reputation of producing champions, with Andre Agassi and Monica Seles being two notable graduates, and Sharapova's parents were convinced that Bollettieri would be able to garner their daughter's talent.

It was also the place where Sharapova's compatriot, Anna Kournikova, had honed her racket skills.

"Of course when you go to the United States with $700, you're considered poor," said Sharapova, now 17. "I mean, it's a new country, you don't have the language, you don't know what's going to happen.

"I was only with my dad when we came because I didn't see my mom for two years because she couldn't get a visa.

"We landed in Miami airport ... I think we took a bus and we drove to Bollettieri. We came there like at 12 midnight. That's how it all started."

Having had such a humble start to life, Sharapova refuses to get carried away with her success even though she has now turned that initial $700 investment into more than $500,000 in prize money.

Although Sharapova is inevitably compared to Kournikova thanks to her glamorous blonde looks, the world number 15 is determined to carve out her own niche.

THREE TITLES

She has already repaid her parents' faith in her by winning three career titles -- which is three more than Kournikova -- and is also a strong contender for this year's Wimbledon title having dropped just 11 games in her three matches so far.

"Definitely my parents have been through all the good times and the bad times and I owe a lot to them," she said.

"They're my best friends ... they always want me to be happy, and to go in the right direction in life."

Having dedicated the last 13 years to the sport, Sharapova is now just four matches away from the Wimbledon title, which would be ultimate reward for her parents' sacrifice.

"I know I can give back to them by these moments like today," Sharapova said after reaching the last 16 here for the second consecutive year.

"Calling my mom and she's excited, and she's calling my grandparents, and they're excited in Russia.

"They can't sleep at night. It's chaos. It's absolute chaos. But these are just the moments (I've been playing for). It's great."