TENNIS Internazionali BNL d’Italia – An interview with Maria Sharapova.
Q: Are you the queen of clay now?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I haven’t thought about myself as the queen of clay, but I think I have improved a lot on this surface. I think I really train myself to become better, as I always have struggled on it since I was younger. I realized that I have no choice but to become stronger, prepare better and recover better and work on these thing because they don’t come automatically.
Q: Do you like play on clay or you just like winning on it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I have enjoyed playing on it, just never have too much fun because I am kind of tall and never be comfortable on it. But I always felt that I learned a lot, I always saw at it as a learning experience, you have time to see weakness a little bit more, but I enjoy winning more than I enjoy playing.
Q:Here have been reactions after championship won at Madrid. This title means more at this stage?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don’t take those stages for granted, I know where it came from: when you spend figured out how to be back on court, not just thinking winning tournaments, it means to be at the stage of a final experience, to be in a type of position, to have that type of pressure and to feel that again it’s why working and keep playing. And not in the middle of nowhere but on the centre court and play those kind of final, it’s very meaningful for me and I don’t want to take anything for granted.
Q: Going into the clay season what is your mentality?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: During Indian Wells I was frustrated, I thought I had a good preparations but I didn’t show it the way that I wanted, I wasn’t happy with that result. I had a few days in between after Miami to relief, commit, work and keep going forward. My team had a good 4 days, and then I came into Miami and start the tournament very strong, I won my matches, but as the tournament went on I start feeling better. After Miami I was drinking mojito in Mexico, and I was happy with myself at that point, I knew there will be a long season ahead but I was ready for it.
Q:You played a lot of tough matches in Madrid, how do you feel physically heading to the French Open, are you able to maintain this stuff?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I just take a day at the time, it’s a tough back to back if you’re doing great in that tournaments, there’s no secrets around it: playing 6 matches in 8 days is physically challenging as well as mentally. You just got to face what’s ahead of you, just go out there and play.
Q: There’s been women recently who have been booed off the court. As someone who always gives 140%, what do you think about players who give up mid-match?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don’t know, it’s hard for me to be in that kind of position. I think and always said that we are very lucky to do what we do, is an honour to go and see your name in the draw. So unless you have an injury, you should play.
Q: It’s almost a decade since you won Wimbledon, you’re still young but you feel like a veteran.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I feel like I’ve been on the tour for a while (laugh). I still feel quite young and hard, I have the passion and the energy to keep doing what I am doing: I love playing, I love competing, and I love it as much as I did when I was 17 years old girl. Success came at a very young age for me, and to seat here after so many years, to see where my career is, what I have accomplished, I would have never thought I would be able to do that.
