TENNIS US OPEN – 31st of August 2014. C. Wozniacki d. M. Sharapova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. An interview with Maria Sharapova
Q. What did you think were the keys to this result today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it was quite a long match. Yeah, making a long story short, I felt like in the end of the first set made a few sloppy errors to lose that first set in the end. Was happy with the way I turned things around and started playing a bit more aggressive. Got in the points with her. In the third set I stopped doing that. Allowed her to get back in those long points, long rallies, and ultimately went for the shots that created errors.
Q. What were your thoughts on her game today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I thought she played really well. She made me hit a lot of balls. That’s always been her strength. But she did extremely well today. She’s a great retriever, especially in these types of conditions. I just felt like I maybe went for a little too much.
Q. What were the conditions like out there? It seemed very muggy, very hot. Did that affect you at any point?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was warm, it was windy, but that’s — we’re in New York; it’s summertime. Arthur Ashe is known to have windy conditions. I have played here for many years and I know what to expect. That didn’t really affect me much today.
Q. You played phenomenally in the second set. Did your level decrease at all in the third set or did Caroline raise her level in the third set?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I just stopped doing what helped me get advantage of the points in the second set. I hit a good shot and I allowed her to get back in the point instead of looking to come in. Whether I hit a swinging volley or hit a approach shot, give myself a advantage situation. She’s very good at getting a lot of balls back and making you hit another one. In the end, I went for a little too much.
Q. Your loss here leaves only two of the top eight seeds in the tournament. You have been a victim in other slams. Can you talk about what’s going on in women’s tennis?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, that’s a very large question, I’d say. I’m not a specialist in what’s going on. I can only speak for myself. Today just didn’t go my way; I’m out of the tournament.
Q. Are you surprised that some of the other top players are gone?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It’s a long season. There are a lot of tournaments. There’s a lot of depth on the tour. You can never underestimate any opponent that’s in front of you. I think that’s shown in the last few Grand Slams.
Q. Obviously your Grand Slam season is now over. There were some tough bumps in the road, including today. You’ll always have Paris. How would you assess, I mean, the Grand Slam season for you? Just winning the French, is that just enough to make it really a sweet year, or what is your assessment?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, right now after losing in a Grand Slam it’s tough to look back and, say, talk about a sweet victory. Of course it’s certainly nice to have. In that run that I had, there was a lot of things behind me. I was close to getting out of the top 10 in every single match I played, starting in Stuttgart. There was a lot on the line for me and I performed really well and I brought it. The other Grand Slams I just wasn’t able to do that in the later parts of the matches. Of course that’s disappointing, but overall it’s great to have that victory in Paris. Right now it doesn’t make it any better.
