TENNIS WTA Stuttgart – Sharapova d Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 An Interview with Maria Sharapova
Yesterday and today, two tough matches. Is that what you needed?
Well, you have to take what you get, obviously. You have to accept these situations. I was very happy to win in two sets. So, it was easier for myself today than my previous match.
Are you happy with the game plan you had because you called your trainer, your coach?
Yes, I think I always want to improve. I don’t think I’m ever satisfied because when you feel like everything is going so well you never keep improving, you never work on things that you feel still need improvement.
With the prospect of playing Agnieszka now, what’s going to be your mind-set? What do you need to do?
Well, she is No. 3 in the world and obviously someone that’s been playing extremely well to be in that position. And I love this sort of challenges. We’ve played each other many times in our careers. There are certainly no secrets about each other’s games. But I don’t think we played on clay in a while, it’s been a few years. But I certainly look to improve in all aspects of my game because she’s playing well.
What things will you have to improve on clay now?
I think a little bit of everything because it’s such a different game and the movement is a big part of the clay season. First matches are always about finding your ground and finding your movement and getting back in position and for me especially turning defence into offense because that’s when I play my best.
What about the adjustment from the indoor play to outdoors? That’s a whole new adjustment again?
I find every tournament on clay a bit different, no matter if you’re playing indoors or outdoors just because of … In Madrid you’re playing at altitude, in Rome it’s back down to normal pretty much, the French is different as well. All courts play a little bit differently and I think it’s about how you adapt and how you adjust. We have a little bit of time going to Madrid in between here and there. So, those days are very valuable.
A lot of recreational players struggle to bring their performance from the practice courts onto the match court because it is completely different. What do you do during practice to bring on that mental stress during the match onto the practice courts?
I think there’s really nothing that replicates that match atmosphere. Of course, you can work on drills, think of it mentally like you’re playing in front of thousands of people but then you look around and there’s no one really there (laughs). But I’ve always been pretty good with adjusting because I have a lot of experience with that. I think of the chance of going out and playing in front of a lot of people or playing in a match is actually a reward because it gets a bit boring practicing. So, I always look towards the competition. I look towards that excitement thinking ‘wow, people are going to be watching what I’ve been doing.’ That’s why I practice. You’re an athlete but you’re a bit of an entertainer as well. People buy tickets to watch you play and that’s the reason we’re out there. Of course, you’re always going to feel a bit nervous but it’s a mix of that with excitement.
So, what’s the atmosphere out there here in Stuttgart? It has been voted best tournament five times.
It’s a really special tournament for a reason. From the first round on, it’s really amazing. It’s pretty much full, I didn’t get a chance to see how many people were there. But that atmosphere, the energy, from the music to the way all the players are treated is really special and I think that’s why it has been voted one of the best tournaments. (Porsche Tennis Grand Prix)
