	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 18, 2015

Maria Sharapova

CINCINNATI, OHIO

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you doing with the injury?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I just didn't have enough time really, you know. I have been practicing here the last few days and I'm just looking at the US Open in, you know, 11, 12 days.
It's a tough decision to make, but I think a wise one, in order to give myself the right amount of time to be as healthy as I can be for the Open, which I believe is very realistic, but I don't know if it would be realistic if I did compete and start tomorrow.
Yeah, very unfortunate. I mean, the tournament has been great to me and the tournament director and all the fans, and I definitely wish I could step out there. But under the circumstances and the dateline to the US Open just, wouldn't be a smart move.

Q. Two years ago in Montreal you were hurt; played one match here and missed the Open.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I don't remember that.

Q. What's the exact nature of the injuries?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I didn't think I aggravated it, but I just had really good training for a few weeks, and just close to when I was gonna leave for Toronto just didn't‑‑ I don't know if it was just a little bit of an overuse and didn't give myself enough rest.
Yeah, and then obviously then you look towards the next one, which is this event, and then you get ready for that and then you just realize that maybe initially you didn't take enough time for it.

Q. So it's not ideal preparation for NewYork.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, but that's the circumstance, and I obviously want to give myself the best chance to be healthy there. That's the wisest move right now.

Q. Quite a few players said after Wimbledon they put in harder training blocks than typically in years past.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah.

Q. Did you feel like you did that, as well, or was this kind of your standard Wimbledon/post Wimbledon training block going into the hard courts?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I feel like I did. I mean, like I said before, it's always a really nice break because you're able to just focus on kind of building something that maybe you do in the offseason and building a good base for the rest of the year.
Yeah, but you build it to try and play some events before the Open, which didn't work out according to plan. Yeah, I did have some good training weeks physically and on the court, but also time to think about that and not have to worry about, you know, playing a match the next day. I had a great amount of time.
Yeah, it's just unfortunate situation.

Q. You had a leg injury earlier this year. Was that kind of the same injury?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Other leg. I know. Balancing it out.

Q. Taking turns?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: (Smiling.)

Q. Does this feel like a compensation injury?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't ‑‑no, I think this is just from the training I did. It had nothing to do with it.

Q. How concerned are you about this going to NewYork?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I would be if I tried to go out and try to play five days in a row. But knowing that that I have this time, I'm very confident I will be healthy.

Q. If you felt the way you did today and the Open starting tomorrow, would you play?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I just spoke to the doctor for a pretty long time and I went through my MRI images I took last week. Yeah, he just mentioned I probably did not give myself the amount of time for this type of injury, and that that's what I need.

Q. More specifically, what type of injury?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's in the upper leg.

Q. Some rest for a few days?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think just a few days. Quite honestly, I didn't give myself a lot of rest days. I just took it easier than I did, because I thought with just a little bit of time and downtime and not a lot of movement it would get better.
I was still training through it pretty much and doing a lot of intervals and getting in shape, so I think I just have to cut that down a little bit in the next, yeah, few days.

Q. This is obviously where experience comes in now because you're going to have to go in pretty cold. So playing yourself into form...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I don't know about that, but, yeah, I think I will have to take it a match at a time and obviously can't have too many expectations. It's not the most ideal situation, but it is what it is for this particular year. Going into the Open.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I try. I'm never good at that, but I do try.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297