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ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2015

Maria Sharapova

PARIS, FRANCE

L. SAFAROVA/M. Sharapova
7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Did you feel at any point you could turn this match around, or did you feel from the start that it was going to be a rough day out there?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I felt like I had small openings, and I just wasn't able to, you know -- and play a good few points, I just wasn't able to keep that level up today. She was able to do that for a longer period of time. She was the much more aggressive player. She took, you know, took the time away from me, created her angles and I didn't. That was the difference today, in my opinion.

Q. Do you chalk this up to just a bad day at the office? Just didn't have your game? Or was this an accumulation of a tough week? How do you kind of read that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, just a tough day and a match that I lost. My opponent was at a much higher level more consistently than I was, and that results in a bad day at the office.

Q. I guess you don't want to talk too much about this, but has this illness really damage your week here, even if you don't like to talk about that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't like to talk about it, and I don't think it really makes a difference. I'm still a competitor no matter what. You know, I'm going to do everything in order to go out and give it my best, and I think I did the best I could. Today it wasn't enough, because my opponent had a different gear than I did. But I was still there and I still competed, but it wasn't enough.

Q. I'd like to ask you, obviously this year will be different because there is three weeks between here and Wimbledon. How do you view that? Are you a proponent of that, and what will you be doing for those three weeks? How will it change from what you've done in the past?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I said I'd make a decision on what I would do after the French Open, but it's only been 30 minutes since my match, so as you can probably imagine, I haven't really had a chance to discuss with my team about my schedule going forward.

Q. In general, though...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think it's great. I think it's nice to have a little extra time. I don't know what everyone will be doing, including myself, so I guess we'll see.

Q. Talked about your improvement on clay, and obviously this is your earliest exit here in a few years. Overall did you feel like you were playing at the same level during the clay court season, or did you feel like you maybe weren't where you were the last few years?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think it really makes sense to compare. Every year is different. I never like to look back on any year. I'm very grateful for what I have been able to achieve and how I have been able to change my results around. Every year is a different story, and this year my preparation started much later and got into the groove a little bit later. You know, I had a great result in Rome. Here was much shorter than I wanted it to be, but I don't like to sit here and compare to other years. If I do that, then it's even more disappointing, of course. But it's not the way that I look at things.

Q. On Lucie, she's 28, first time in the quarterfinals here, she's got a lot of potency in her game. Do you feel she's someone who is underachieved and you would have expected these results from her earlier?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think she's really picked up her level. I think she's much more consistent off of both wings. She's playing really aggressive. I think she has a little bit more time on clay, allows her to use those lefty angles a little bit more. And she's done that extremely well.

Q. Speaking of Wimbledon, whatever you do between now and then, do you think, is there any bit of you that thinks going out here early would be a good thing as far as Wimbledon is concerned? It will give you more time to practice, to rest, to compete, whatever?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, I look at things -- I want to prepare myself and train and not think about where I will be in four weeks. I think as an athlete, we want to try to be at the highest level, but to get there you know what your formula is. You know, I started getting that rhythm again by the time Rome came around. You know, it was a little bit tough to keep that going in the last couple of weeks, but that's what it is. Then I'll get back to the basics. I know that with work I know what I can do and I know how I will feel. That's the most important thing, just to get healthy, to give myself a chance to prepare, and whether that means a warmup tournament or just getting extra days on the grass or getting extra, you know, time to just train physically, then that's what it will be. But by the time Wimbledon comes around, I know that I will be ready.
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