AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2005

Maria Sharapova

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Maria, please.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, she made me hit a lot of balls. At the beginning of the first set, I was trying to do -- I was trying to come in a little bit more, but I wasn't converting my volleys. I was making too many unforced errors at the beginning and I wasn't giving myself a chance to play my game. Basically I was just letting her play her game and worrying about what she was doing. She played a solid, solid game. She hit great winners, you know, out of the court which sometimes were unexpected. But I hung in there and I thought I really fought well. This was a very important -- you know, being a break down in the second, early in the set, I thought it was a very -- it was a good job of me to get back into the match.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I started concentrating a lot better than I did in the first. I just tried to tell myself just to keep fighting, to keep trying new things and just playing my game rather than worrying about what she was doing and how she was trying to play, and playing these games. Just thinking about what I should do.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. I knew that it was going to be a very tough match. I expected that from her. When we played in Rome, I remember the first set was very tough and we had a lot of long points. With the surface being slower than the hard court, I knew that a lot of the points were going to be long and tough and she would get a lot of balls back. It was just going to be a good match.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, it was an important moment. It was one of the important moments of the match. I was actually down in the second game, too, I remember. I think she had a few game points to go up 2-0. There's a big difference between being a set down and 2-0, and being a set down and 1-All when you're back on serve. So it was a very important game. But in the third, there were a lot of crucial moments and it could have gone any way, so...

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm excited. I know it's going to be another tough match. I'm prepared. We've played each other end of last year. She beat me once in Beijing, I beat her at the Championships. You're going to expect great things from her. You know, I'm just excited to be in the quarters. I'm just going to go out like I've been going out and playing my game, having fun, enjoying it and fighting to win.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I actually wasn't surprised. I knew that she could -- she would be a top player, for sure, with her physical ability and her fitness and the way she fights for everything. I knew that, you know, she'd be able to accomplish many great things. I knew she would be a great player. So, you know, I don't know. Maybe it was a bit unexpected, you know, to happen maybe early. But I'm sure, you know, she's worked for it.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, definitely. She's had a lot of experience in the doubles. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm prepared to play singles and doubles at this point yet. It's a little just too much for me. But, yeah, she does seem like a complete player.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, we will see. I don't know. I've never played against her on Rebound Ace. So we have to see.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I only like grass because you only get to play on it for two tournaments, which is only one month of the year. So it's just fun. It's different. I mean, of course, not everyone likes it. I obviously like it for some weird reason. I think all surfaces have a different challenge. This one you just have to be very, very patient, especially on clay and hard court, and indoors is a bit faster. I mean, you're still going to play your opponent and you still know that your opponent's playing on the same surface. So, you know, I don't -- I try not to worry about what I'm playing on.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'd probably play it on grass.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I definitely want to play Fed Cup in the future. You know, the future can be tomorrow, and the future can be in a few months, or the future can be in a few years. You know, I don't know at this point. I'm very, very interested. I'd love to play. I've never played. You know, I've played World Team Tennis, which is in a team, but obviously I've never gotten the opportunity to play, you know, with your compatriots, which is going to be really, really exciting for me. And I really want to do that, yeah.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I love coming back to Asia because all the people are so excited about athletes. They have such a passion -- especially I don't know for other sports, but I know for tennis, they have such a passion for the game. It's so exciting to see people so happy to see you. You know, it's very welcoming. It brings out the best in your game. And different places, you know, in Asia are so beautiful. I love traveling, and I definitely think Asia is so different compared to anywhere in the world. It's very fun.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, the food is very different (laughing). You have a lot of different things on the menu that are definitely not on the menu in other places in the world, yeah. But I like food, so I don't mind.