TENNIS WTA Stuttgart – Maria Sharapova d Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-3. An interview with Maria Sharapova.
Congratulations first of all. You sort of seemed relieved at the end of the match. Was it because of the ranking or because of the match?
Because of the ranking?
Yes, because you were supposed to be out of the Top 10 if you lose this?
I’ve been on the Tour for too many years to think about that. That’s not my concern. Obviously it was a very difficult end and she played extremely well on some of those match points. I was happy that I stayed aggressive and I was able to win the last one. It was a really big point obviously. So, yeah it’s a big win for me, probably the biggest since my injury.
It was a tough start to the match, seven consecutive breaks in a row. Was it just nerves or did it just take time to settle?
I think just not being smart at the right times and not playing well, not constructing the points well on my serve. But I think the key was that game that I was able to win after being down 0:40.
From that point on you were pinpoint sharp. What are the positives you can take out of this?
I think it’s important to take advantage of things in her game that are you know not so aggressive. I think I returned also quite well against her serve. You need to take advantage of that against a player like that because if you allow her to get back into the point she is capable of doing a lot of damage, that’s why she’s No. 3 in the world.
Were you just taking a peek outside at your opponents?
Yes, I haven’ faced each of them in a long time. I’m looking forward to that match because they are both clay court specialists. That’s their favourite surface by far. It’s going to be a tough match.
Have you done something special to improve your second serve? Your second serve seems so much better.
You know I always work … It’s a combination of working on my serve to make it a bit easier on my shoulder. I’ve been working on a motion to be able to play three hours because that’s really important and something that I lacked at the beginning of this year. I didn’t have that strength to finish off matches. Yes, I constantly work to improve little things in my game and especially to help my shoulder at this stage of my career.
Are you slicing it more?
I don’t know.
Can you talk a little bit on how comfortable you moved around the court, particularly when you had to move up into the court to some of the lower short balls?
She likes moving her opponents front to back. She does that extremely well when she has time. You know, I don’t want to find myself running forwards and backwards. Of course, I need to look for the opportunities when I have short ball and take advantage of that and not let her get back into the point, which she does so often. That’s something that I did really well. She drop shots quite a lot in matches but I didn’t really give her that time today
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Jelena Jankovic said that she plays doubles to improve her volley. Are you the kind of players who improves her shots on the practice court instead of for instance playing doubles to improve your shots?
Well, she plays thirty tournaments singles and doubles. I don’t think it’s just to improve her volleys (laughs), it’s for other things as well, I don’t really know why. So that’s not a good example. At this stage in my career it’s really important to understand the tournaments that are important for you to know when your body and your mind are ready to play at a higher level. I’m looking forward to playing the finals at tournaments, not trying to get matches beforehand so I’ll be ready. When I come into a tournament I’m not going to play extra doubles matches to get that extra hours on centre court or other courts. I just play. That’s never really been my philosophy and I don’t think I’m going to change that now whatever age I am. (Porsche Tennis Grand Prix)
