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ROGERS CUP

August 8, 2018

Maria Sharapova

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

M. SHARAPOVA/D. Kasatkina

6-0, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did today's performance compare to yesterday's for you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I came in with a similar mindset, just a focused mindset that I needed to carry on to today's match. As I said on court, I came into the match with a lot of respect for my opponent. She's had really good results. She's No. 12 in the world. You can't take that very lightly, especially for a second round.

I thought, yeah, with everything, I took that and I made good use of it.

Q. There was a little stumble at Wimbledon, but you did very well before that. Now you've had two one-sided matches. Where do you feel in terms of getting back up to the top again, the progression?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I did, I had really good back-to-back wins during the clay season. I felt like I was getting a good rhythm again. Just like in tennis, you have to wake up and have to do it again. Unfortunately for me at Wimbledon, it just didn't work out. No matter how many chances I gave myself, I wasn't able to be the one that won that last point.

As disappointing as that is, again, sometimes you go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next one, take care of your body, make the right schedule decisions, and hope that those pay off.

Q. With the way you've won the first two matches, is there any risk to being too dominant early on?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I've had all types of matches in my career. I'll take what I can get. As long as I'm the one getting a chance to play the next match, I think that's what I really care about.

But I think to be able to carry that focus, there are certainly a few up and downs in matches, momentum switches. I think that is from one perspective what makes the sport exciting, but also as a player makes it very challenging. You have to keep going no matter what, no matter how many ups and downs you face in the match.

I think it's been great to carry that focus and to be dominant from the beginning till the end.

Q. About a hundred points there, 25 of them from you were winners. How much in rhythm did you feel today, in spite of the conditions out there?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You can't think things will come easy. During the match you never think it's easy. You are still facing pretty warm, humid conditions. You don't know what's going to happen with the weather. There's a lot of things that can be thrown at you. Even if you win a set, it's still not over, as we say in tennis.

So, yeah, considering all of that, you can't get too comfortable with hitting those winners. I certainly play an aggressive game, but I also have to be consistently aggressive. If that means making a few more errors, which I usually do maybe compared to other players, if that brings me more advantage in the other points, I see that as a benefit.

Q. You're playing Caroline Garcia next. You had a pretty dramatic match in Stuttgart earlier this year. Any thoughts on that one?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: 'Dramatic' is probably...

Q. It was a tough match.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: ...interesting choice of vocabulary (smiling).

Q. Tough match.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was a tough match.

Yes, I felt it was certainly a tough match coming in as my first match on clay. I had a fair share of opportunities I didn't use and didn't take. But, yeah, I look forward to that matchup. We've played against each other a few times. I always enjoy that battle. You kind of know what to expect from her: big serves, big groundstrokes. Just attack, move forward. Not too many secrets from each other's games.

Q. She did make a couple of pushes on your serve, six breakpoints you were able to save. How happy have you been with your serving this week?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, definitely. There was one game where she had an opportunity to get back on serve in that second set. There are times when your opponent is down, has a little bit of freedom, looseness because they might not have something to lose. As the score is against them a little bit, they tend to play better.

Yeah, I made a few errors to start that game. I was down Love-40. I thought I did a really good job of just serving it out well, being smart in the points. I think it's always a combination. It's not just about one shot. It's always the shot that opens it up for the next one.

Q. There's been a video going around on social media of you and Dasha when she was quite young. Did you have a chance to see it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I haven't.

Q. She's 10 at the time. You have your arm around her.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think there's a photo of us from an event I did in Moscow a few -- not a few, but many years ago. She's all grown up. So am I (smiling).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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