By Paul Levine SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CARLSBAD, California (Ticker) - Even though Mary Pierce had won two Grand Slams, many tennis pundits didn't expect her to have the successful summer run at the French Open and at Wimbledon, but it didn't surprise her.

"It's been so great, I'm really happy," said Pierce, who was the runner-up to Justin Henin-Hardenne at Roland Garros and bowed to eventual champion Venus Williams in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last month.

"I've been working hard for over a year and it's really nice to see it finally paying off," said Pierce, whose career has been plagued by back, shoulder and ankle injuries

"I've been through some tough times, and it was always inside of me that I had more to do in tennis and I wasn't done yet. It's just believing in my ability and believing inside of me what I already felt."

Pierce has won 16 WTA Tour titles, including the Australian Open in 1995 and the French Open in 2000, but the 30-year-old admits to having more goals before calling it a career.

"I like to have goals, I think they're very important," she said. "Sometimes you achieve them and sometimes you don't achieve what you set out to achieve. My goals still haven't changed, they're still the same.

"Before I retire, I would like to be back in the top 10, win a Grand Slam and the Championships," said Pierce, currently ranked No. 13. "You never know, I might never achieve any of them or I might all of them in one year."

Getting back into the top 10 appears to be achievable for Pierce, who finished a career-high fifth three times (1994, 1995 and 1999) before slipping to No. 29 last year.

"At the end of last year I didn't do well at all in the indoor tournaments, but those things are far gone," she said. "The thing I must do is do my very best today. It's kind of like one step at a time and see what happens."

Already Pierce has accomplished one short-term goal by earning a first-round bye as the No. 6 seed this week at the $1.3 million Acura Classic at the La Costa Hotel and Spa.

"Actually, this week one of my goals has come true - I got a bye because I needed wild cards to get into draws before," she said. "I think this is the first Tier I tournament I've been given a bye."

Pierce will take on a qualifier in a second-round match in a tournament devoid of true star power after defending champion Lindsay Davenport (ailing back), Serena Williams (sore ankle), Maria Sharapova (back strain) and Justin Henin-Hardenne (injured hamstring) pulled out with injuries. Wimbledon champion Venus Williams opted to skip the event after falling to Kim Clijsters in the final at Stanford on Sunday.