WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2003

Maria Sharapova

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, Maria Sharapova. Take the first question, please.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, not really. We do our own separate thing. We've, I mean, we practice. Sometimes, yes, we do get together. But, no, we don't really talk about how we played, or at least I don't.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, no, it's not a competition. It's just that we like to do our own thing. We basically do that.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: They're really strong and they're really tough. They work that extra hour at the end of the day. They know that they -- I mean, if someone has a talent, they know that they can achieve it, you know, by just working hard, and that's what they do.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: When I come into a tournament, I mean, I'm expecting to win. That's my philosophy. I can't go to a tournament thinking, "Yeah, I'm gonna get my ass kicked today, so I might as well just leave." So basically, I mean, I'm very happy and I'm very surprised. Yes, I'm very young, I'm 16 and I'm in the fourth round of Wimbledon. How odd is that? But, you know, I know that one day it would come; one day all that hard work could pay off. I mean, I am surprised, but it's just reality.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I love it. That Centre -- that wasn't Centre, that was Court 1. No, Court 1 was just unbelievable. When I stepped on the court, I was like, "I'm not gonna give her a chance today. That's it," you know? "I want to be a winner today on this court, right here, this moment." When I went out there, all the fans were just crazy, the place was just filled up. You get like, "Wow," and everybody's around you.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, "Come on, come on."

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I'd say something in Russian, but it's another version of, "Come on" (laughter).

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I've actually -- I have a coach in California for the past four years or so - five almost. So half of my time is in Florida, half of my time is in LA when I'm at tournaments, that's another half of my time. It's a very good balance. My house is in Florida; it's really quiet. Going to Los Angeles, California, is training hard, you're like in a hotel sort of playing a tournament.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: When I first met him, it was a really big occasion. I was really young, so I didn't really pay attention. I just went on the court with my dad. I thought he was on the phone, he was sort of motionless with his head down. We said hi. He's like, "Yeah, what's your name?" I'm like, "Maria." He's like, "Maria who?" So I told him my last name. He's like, "Yeah, I get to the baseline." I go on the baseline -- I didn't go to the baseline, I went to the short court, because usually you start warming up from the short court. He's like, "What the hell are you doing here? I don't teach my players to stand so short." There's no such thing as a warm-up down there. That's how it all started. He has helped my game tremendously. I think especially today when I played such a hard hitter, these are the times where you think, "Oh, my gosh, all that hard work on my strokes and ball after ball after ball." When you just play against like Dokic, like I did today, you remember those moments because she's the girl that hits ball after ball after ball, and, I mean, sometimes just never misses. Definitely he has helped me tremendously.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: When I'm in America, yes, definitely. When I'm in Russia, I feel Russian.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I was sleeping at that time. When I woke up, I heard -- I remember it now. My dad was like, "Yeah, Hingis lost." I was like, "Oh, okay."

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Do I consider myself?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I'm Russian, I have Russian citizenship. When the Olympics are on and when I see the Russian flag go down and the American flag go down, I'm like, "I want Russia to win so bad." It's just that feeling. I don't know why. I mean, I've lived in the US half of my life. It's definitely a big part of my life, developing my tennis career there. But I'm just -- my blood is totally Russian.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: My house was still in Florida, yes.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I didn't stop. I kept going back because my house is there. And when I was there, I practice at the academy. It's a wonderful facility.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yes, yes, still both. You have clay courts there, Rebound Ace, you have hard courts, and the staff are wonderful when I come there, sparring partners. It's great for me there.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah, definitely. He got me my Christmas tree when I couldn't get one (laughter). No, I mean, inside of me I know what it takes to be a champion, and I know with his attitude he can make me a champion. Because when I go on the court, I know that when someone's on the other side, a really nice guy, and when I hit the ball in the fence he says, "Oh, that's all right. You know, next time you'll get it better." It doesn't really improve me. It's all right that he's a tough guy, and I know he is, but that's what makes me a better player. Off the court, you know, he's funny as I don't know who. But on the court, you know, you got to be tough.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm... Best performance? It was hard to really perform well because that was the first time I was playing her. I didn't know what to expect. There was points where I just made my way through the point and force her to hit an error. I think I could have performed well. Like, if she didn't have so much power, I think I could have played my game a little bit more and enjoyed it out there, you know, while I thought that I was out there scrambling. And when I got the opportunity, I hit a really good shot or I made her hit an error. So it was sort of that. But it's definitely a big win in my career.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm not from Moscow, though.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: We didn't really know about those facilities in those days.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Right, right.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I mean, as time gets better and the tennis gets bigger, I think definitely tennis will be big in Russia. And right now it is. I mean, like I said earlier, we have so many girls in the Top 100. It's just -- it's wonderful to see them all. I hope, I hope that's the way it goes. I don't really know but I hope it's the direction we're going.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: April 19th.