Maria Sharapova Interview - French Open, May 25

Maria Sharapova Interview
French Open, May 25

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How encouraged were you by your performance today?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I started pretty lousy. You know, even though I was up a break, I wasjust not doing the right things and, you know, letting her play really well. She got a lot of balls back. She made me hit a lot of balls. I was just a little sloppy.

But I totally changedit around, and I started playing a lot better and more aggressive. The matchkind of changed after the first few games of the second set.

Q. Must be a different feeling this year than last year when you were stillthe No. 1. Can you express yourfeelings? Where is your level now?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it's a very different ‑‑ verydifferent time in my career, as well, because I've only played a couple oftournaments since I played here last, actually two, only.

So, you know, I feellike I don't have as many matches under my belt as I had coming into thistournament last year, where, you know, I was No. 1. You know, I won a few titles, I was playingreally good tennis. This year it'sobviously different after having a long layoff.

Q. Tough to find yourself back here, at the No. 128, being the No. 1 likeyou were last year.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: At this point in my career, I don'tthink ‑‑ it certainly doesn't bother me, doesn't change the way Ithink. Many of the girls that are, say,are in the top 10 or top 20 when I was top 5 or 1 in the world, I used to playthem second or third round, anyways. NowI just kind of change around and I've been out of the game. I've always made a point about not reallycaring who's on the other side of the net and knowing that I have to go outthere and just compete and try to win the match.

Q. Serve is a big part of your game. How would you describe your relationship with your serve today and, say,the last little while trying to get back to it?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's interesting, because we're on clay, so Idon't feel like ‑‑ I've never hit 20 ace in a match, per se. I've always been a solid server, so I thinkespecially on clay it's just so important to have a good percentage of firstserves, you know.

Make the opponent hit areturn, make the opponent hit a good return. Make them get back in the point. That's kind of what I'm working on here, you know. After shoulder surgery I'm not going to comeout and hit Mach 50 and try and hit aces left and right.

Q. Seemed like the first set maybe a little bit of nerves. You were hesitating a little bit. Didn't have your normal anticipation. Is it just coming ‑‑ I know you playedmore ‑‑ coming back to the big stage. I know it's a Slam. You have someexpectations of at least playing well.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, well, I don't really have expectations,to be honest. I think this is the firsttime in my career where I can really say where I don't have any expectations, Idon't know how things are going to work out.

I don't know what'sgoing to happen tomorrow, how my shoulder is going to feel. Obviously I haven't played competitivematches in a long time. That's a bigfactor for my body and for my shoulder, and, you know, tennis‑wise, competingand playing, you know, getting all that back.

I think that's just so important right nowjust to ‑‑ I mean, it's definitely ‑‑ it's tough coming out andthinking of the things you have to do in order to win the match, because at theend of the day, you have to focus on yourself and, you know, you have to focuson what you do well, but you also ‑‑ you don't want to come out making toomany errors, and that kind of hesitation today, you know, force me to make moreerrors than I usually do.

Q. Doyou see this as sort of a second career now? It's almost been a career since you've been comfortable.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, in a way. Definitely. It's the first time in, you know, in my life where I couldn't practicefor such a long period of time. I thinkit was three months where I didn't touch a tennis racquet. I mean, everything about it was justbizarre. It was some things were justtaken away from your life.

In a strange way, it'skind of, I don't know ‑‑ it was a little calming, you know. Even though it's obviously stressful becauseyou don't know if you're ever going to get the chance to be out here again andplaying again and you always have to be positive. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are manydays where I was really hesitant, and, you know, you try to do the best things,but there are so many different paths and so many voices and so many opinions,and at the end of the day you have to try and choose the right one.

You know, I've been grateful to have awonderful team around me that's been able to, you know, support me and help mein making those right decisions and is leading me to the right paths.

Q. Whatdo the doctors say long term about your shoulder? Do you expect to get completely back to whereyou were before?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: They say I should be fine.

Q. You've spoken before how fortunate you are.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yes.

Q. When you were out this length of time, did you have time to reflect onwhat a tremendous experience, what a tremendous life you've had and thepossibility that you might not have it again?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, absolutely.

Q. Could you reflect on that, please?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, absolutely. Every single day. You know, no matter where I was, I wasobviously ‑‑ it seems like I was, you know, home for the whole ninemonths, but I was spending a lot of time in Arizona so I wasn't exactly home, home.

I did have anopportunity to have a normal life and I think when you're traveling 11 monthsout of the year, always on the go, and you never have the time to actuallysettle down and appreciate the very little things that you have in life, and,you know, the No. 1 thing is your family. Your support system, and, you know, the people that are sending youpositive vibes every single day. Andthen just the opportunities that you've had, that you've gained in life fromyour tennis career, you know.

Everything, tennis and, you know, in mycareer and when I go out on the court, drives everything, drives myself, drivesmy business, drives everything that I do.

You know, you realize that, youknow, you sit back and you're like, you miss it, you want to be out there, and,you know, doesn't ‑‑ it's from the hour you're in the locker room andputting your dress on, you know, to the 15 minutes before your match whereyou're warming up and you're pumping yourself up and, you know, you're going toget out there in front of 20,000 people. You miss that. I certainly missedit.

Q. Andthe one piece of advice that you got during all this period, what was the bestadvice that you got?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, many. Definitely many. All that I'mvery appreciative of. You know, one thingis that you have to ‑‑ what I had to realize from the beginning was thatit was going to be a long road. As anathlete, you try to anticipate your comeback. You try to figure out when you'regoing to be back. Oh, there are so manytimes I thought, oh, I had I'll be back in Australia, or, oh, I will be backin a few weeks. Every single time it wasdisappointment after disappointment because you couldn't achieve thatgoal. So that's when it kind of becomesa little bit frustrating.

I think another thingis many people think that you have surgery and you wake up and you'recompletely fine. There's a lot of workthat goes on, especially after being out of the game, not only getting yourshoulder right and getting your strength back after shoulder surgery, but alsogetting back on the court and training and trying to be where you were beforeand even better.

Q. You will play Petrova. How do youconsider this match?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I've had pretty good success againsther. I haven't seen her recently,especially in the last year or so, so I don't really know how she's playing,but I think my coach watched a little bit of her match, and I'm sure I'll get afew pointers. She has a very aggressiveserve. She plays a pretty big game. You know, I'm just excited that I gave myselfanother opportunity to play tomorrow ‑‑ not tomorrow, but the day after.

Q. If this is act 2 of your career, given that you've had a lot of time tothink about things, is there anything you feel like you'll approachdifferently?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think my losses, you know, because Iwas ‑‑ I am still and I was a big competitor. The losses are very tough to take and nomatter what brave face you put on, it's always difficult, especially the nextday or so, but I think after going through this long process with the shoulder,you know, stuff, I think ‑‑ I don't think I'll treat those losses thatemotionally bad.

Q. You think you'll try to put them behind you faster and process thelessons?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I just have more perspective on thosethings. I've always really had goodperspective, but I'm a competitor, you know. So is everyone else here in the draw. Everyone wants to win, and unfortunately there's only ‑‑fortunately because that's what makes it so exciting. There's only one winner in the men's andwomen's field. You want to be that oneperson.

When you're not, youknow, you're always thinking of how you can be.

Q. You're known as a fighter. It'spractically attached to your name. Howdifficult was it to encounter a situation where really fighting did not help?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: To be honest, it really did. I think if I was ‑‑ if I was a mentallyweak person or individual, I think I wouldn't be here today. I'd be on some island. I mean, sounds good to me, probably soundsgood to everyone in this room. You know,with a nice cold Pina Colada and a nice cold towel they hand around at thepools.

But I love being here,and there's no better feeling than waving to the crowd after you've won. There's no better feeling than going on courtwhen they call your name, and, you know, there's a job in front of you and, youknow, especially in these days, to know that you have an opportunity to go outand play and have a job.

Q. Your serve, you've obviously had to work a little bit on it and a littledifferent service motion. Can you talkus through that a little bit and where you feel it needs to be, the adjustmentson that, Maria?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I'm just trying to do everything Ican. Work on my shoulder, make iteasier. Not just looking for the nextfive or six months. I'm looking down theroad. I want to be playing for as manyyears as my body can, as long as my body can hold up, and I think these littlechanges, I mean, little or big, I think whatever I can do in order to help mybody and to help my shoulder in this particular case, I will do.
Inthis point in my career where I've already achieved things way beyond that Iexpected when I was a little kid, I think if I can adjust and make thesechanges, it will help my body, then I'm totally up for it.