Roland Garros June 2 2011 - Maria Sharapova

N. LI/M. Sharapova

           

6‑4, 7‑5

MARIA SHARAPOVA

            Q.  After you have been probably at your best during the tournament, today something seemed to go wrong, like especially maybe too many double faults or some type of unforced mistakes.  Maybe was it her hard game that led you to try to hit harder and make mistakes.  How did it go today?  What made that?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, she played a very good match.  She certainly played a lot better than I did and a lot more solid, and, you know, she played the crucial points better.

            There were some ‑‑ I had some chances in the first set on her serve, a couple of games that went deuce and had a couple of break points.  I felt like I had a short ball and just didn't step in and then just made an unforced error.

            Then you kind of give your opponent confidence, and then, yeah, just ‑‑ and then at times I didn't serve well, and, you know, was rushing more than maybe I had to, and maybe went for ‑ considering the conditions ‑ maybe I was just trying to go for, you know, too big of second serves, especially.

            Yeah, little things like that.

            Q.  How much was the wind a factor in your tossing of the ball?  It was looking like you were finding the rhythm.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, you know, it's tough for me; it's tough for her; it's tough for both of us.

            Q.  Is there a point during the match you told yourself, Okay, this is not working; I'm switching to plan B?  And if yes, what was plan B?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  I mean, you obviously try to adjust, especially after you lose the first set.  I still feel like I had my share of chances in the first set, and I just didn't take them.

            You know, I tried to move in a little bit more and be a little bit more aggressive, you know, but she was hitting the ball really deep and hard, and sometimes I was a little late, as well.

            Q.  Before and during the game, did you feel very different than yesterday?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  No.

            Q.  During the opportunity, how big is your disappointment?  What state of mind are you going to get going for Wimbledon and the next?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  This was a great result for me here.  You know, it's been a good season on clay.  I had a great tournament in Rome, and I got to the semifinals here after not being in this stage of a Grand Slam for a long time.

            So, you know, I'm quite proud of what I've achieved here, but I still feel like I have a lot of work to do.  You know, I don't have any doubt in the fact that I'll be going out and working on some things and trying to improve, as always.

            Yeah, it's good.  Obviously it's disappointing.  As an athlete you want to win.  There's no doubt.  But, you know, good retail therapy and I'll be fine.  (Smiling.)

Q.        In any case, you are moving better on clay.  I mean, I remember Ferrero, it took him semis, final, and in the end he won.  Will you try to come back and win here in the clay?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, of course I'm going to come back and try to win.  I'm not retiring or something just because I got to the semifinals.

            Q.  I mean, two semis, quarters, it's a good curriculum here.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Thank you.

            Q.  What is the final step, in your opinion, that you have to make to be back on the highest stage?  Because you've always been a great fighter; that's not a problem.  Is it being maybe a bit more consistent on this high level, or not?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Well, I know you don't get from the first step to the 30th step in one jump.  I have always said it's a long journey, and there's going to be ‑‑ there's been tough moments.

            There's going to be good moments.  There's going to be good ones ahead, and there's going to be plenty of good ones that I'm going to cherish.  I really have no doubt in that.  That's why I go out and I keep working.

            As disappointing as it is to lose, I believe in my game a lot.  I know I can improve and improve and get better with every year.  I feel like especially on clay I'm getting better.

            Q.  Considering that you already won all the other Grand Slam tournaments, achieving a career Grand Slam would be obviously the biggest achievement you can still achieve.  Is it the main objective in the coming years, to win here now in Roland Garros?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Um, it's not ‑‑ I will always say maybe it's a coincidence that, you know, the three Grand Slams I won were different.  I would have been just as happy if I won two of one and one of the other.

            Obviously it's great that I have an opportunity, you know, to win all four.  It didn't happen this year, but it's not ‑‑ you know, for me, if I won another Grand Slam, whether it's not here, I think it will mean just as much and even more to me in my career than having it to be all four on all different ones.

            Q.  We have this unfortunate situation where you get off court, and immediately have to look to the future.  I would specifically like you to address Wimbledon where you've obviously had great success.  It's a surface you like.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Uh‑huh.

            Q.  Just talk about coming off this run on clay and then going there, please.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, I enjoy going to out to the grass from clay.  You know, the whole summer swing of things, you know, the warmup tournament and Wimbledon and then the summer swing in the U.S., you know, it's probably my favorite part of the season.

            I feel like I have a lot to look forward to.  Yeah, you just go on from here, you know.  The beauty of tennis is that there is a lot of tournaments during the year.

            Q.  Could you assess this whole Roland Garros from just an emotional standpoint, given how the last few months and year have been for you and what this whole run to the semis means to you?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, it means that I'm improving, that I'm stepping up, and I'm adjusting within the matches.  You know, I was down in some matches; I came back.  You know, I changed things around; I'm moving better.

            Yeah, I feel like it's been good progress, but it's not where I just want to end.

            Q.  If there were a final game between Marion Bartoli and Li Na, what would be your favorite in type of game?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  The tournament is over for me, so, yeah.

Roland Garros. June 1 2011 - Maria Sharapova

M. SHARAPOVA/A. Petkovic

           

6‑0, 6‑3

           

MARIA SHARAPOVA

           

            Q.  You had a tough first game there, and then you kind of rolled.  You know, you have had a problem sort of revving your engines here in matches, sort of getting behind, but clearly that wasn't the case here before.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, there were a few games in the beginning that went to deuce and ad in and ad out.  Even though the first set was 6‑0, we played it for quite a bit of time because of those long games.

            You know, I just did really well in those, you know, those important points in the first set.  I think that was the difference in the beginning.

            And then, yeah, there was a little bit of an up and down in the second, but...

            Q.  This is your first time at this stage of a major since Australia '08.  Can you just talk about that journey and I what it feels like to be back here?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, it's really exciting to be back in the semis here, you know, in general.  I put a lot of work in, you know, to be in this stage of the Grand Slams.  You know, I'm really happy that it's here.  I'm going to have a chance to go further.

            Q.  When we look especially at the second set, was it like in general a tougher match than what the score of 6‑0, 6‑3 reflects?  The second question is when we look at your general performance, tennis, and moral condition, can we say that this is the best Roland Garros, the best Sharapova we've seen at Roland Garros so far?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Well, to answer the first, yeah, it was definitely tougher than the scoreline says.  Because like I said, in the first set there were a lot of games that could have gone either way.

            I thought I just, you know, played really smart in the important points and the deuce points and when I had advantage.  It was a long first set, even though the scoreline was 6‑0.  Yeah, I have been really strong and I've been put into tough situations in some of the matches here being down and sometimes down in the beginning, and, you know, facing tough challenges.

            But I've found a way to overcome them and, yeah, here I am.

            Q.  Were you always confident that you'd get back to this stage in a major?  Did you always think, It's just a matter of time; I'm putting in the work I'm going to get there?  Or were there tough moments there?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  There's no doubt there's tough moments.  I don't think without tough moments the good ones would feel so good.  I have certainly put in a lot of work, and I never ‑‑ you know, I was never hesitant.  I always tried to push myself as much as I could.

            You know, I have a really good team of people around me that, you know, support me and that have helped me in the tough moments and tough decisions that I've had to make in my career.

            It's a long process.  Like I said, I don't think the great moments or the great feelings feel as good as when everything comes easy to you.

            Q.  How would you assess your level in this tournament versus maybe some of the last few slams?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Yeah, in the last slam I lost to Petkovic; today I beat her in the quarterfinal stage.  I would say I improved definitely, yeah.

            Q.  I guess what I'm saying is considering some of your past comments about the surface and maybe this is not the major where you would have expected sort of things to start to fail into place for you.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Well, there's no doubt that I've improved on this surface.  There's no doubt that I felt ‑‑ you know, as the years went on that I felt better and better.  Towards the end of the clay season for me, I would always feel like, Oh, I'm feeling good.  I want to actually play more tournament.

            It's a pretty short season.  We only play a few events.  Yeah, I feel like I've physically overcome many challenges that maybe a few years ago, four years ago, would have been tough for me.

            And just the recovery process after matches, and, you know, sliding and recovering after tough shots, I feel like I'm better in that.

            Q.  Not everybody expected two pair of players, Sharapova, Li Na, Schiavone and Bartoli being in the semifinals at Roland Garros.  There is one name out of these that surprises you most, that you didn't expect to the in the semis?  You are the only one that won three slams; Schiavone won one, and the other two never won one.  Do you think that favors you in a way in terms of experience, or the fact that Schiavone won last year helps her to be more confident?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  I don't think those numbers really matter, because this is just a new tournament.  You know, obviously experience definitely helps me.  I know that I've been ‑‑ I mean, I can only speak for myself.  I know that I've been in these types of situations; I've been in this stage of a Grand Slam before.

            You know, here, this is my second time at Roland Garros, and my goal just looking at myself is just to take it a step further and try and take it to the finals and see what happens.

            But what was the first question?

            Q.  Out of the first four...

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Sorry.  His questions are longer than my answers, so I forget.

            Q.  I'll try to be []...

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  You have to write it down.  You can't remember it?

            Q.  No, I'm afraid to miss, to mistake.  I know that you're very precise.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  (Laughing.)  Am I surprised?

            Q.  Are you surprised more about one of these names than the others?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  No.  To be honest, I think at Roland Garros, with every year you see some surprises more than other Grand Slams.  I'm not surprised at all.

            Q.  What do you think about the level of Marion Bartoli's game on clay right now?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  I haven't seen too much of the matches.  I haven't seen too much of her matches here, so I don't think I would evaluate that well.

            Q.  If you win this tournament, you would complete all four slams.  Is that kind of thought already in your mind?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  No.  I'm in the semifinal stage of this tournament, and my goal is just to take it a step further right now.

            Q.  Just on the crowd, they were behind you against Radwanska, and today they were behind you, too.  It helps you?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Well, I think crowd support is really important.  I think it's ‑‑ you know, when people go out to see you and they support, you know, tennis and they support good tennis, I think it raises ‑‑ you know, it raises our levels.

            You know, I heard a lot of people cheering my name in Russian, which means a lot to me.  Yeah, I've ‑‑ you know, support always feels really good.  I think when you're in the moment, I really try to zone out and really just concentrate on what I have to do.

            But I've been in situations where, you know, I haven't felt my best or my tennis wasn't there, and the crowd has helped me tremendously.  Sometimes that's very, very important.  Absolutely.

            Q.  Tough Melbourne; tough early go this year; then you began to step it up.  Could you talk about how your game has progressed, how you're sort of getting into the swing of things here?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  What if I say that I already answered that question?  What will you do?  Will you just read the transcript?

            No, I haven't been asked that.  Something similar, but not that.  Um, yeah, I've definitely stepped it up, and I feel like I'm playing better.  You know, most importantly, I feel like I'm making adjustments in the match situations, but I'm also playing a lot by instinct.

            I think because I played a lot of matches, I think that's helped me.  You know, I've said from the beginning of this year that it will be really important for me to play a lot of matches and stay healthy, because that will really ‑‑ you know, my ‑‑ I think when you go out on the court and when you're playing matches, I was lacking.  I was thinking a little bit too much in certain situations because I didn't have ‑‑ I didn't feel like I had those matches behind my back.

            Things just come a little bit naturally.  You don't think about certain situations when you play a lot.  That's helped me tremendously.

            Q.  Has it felt at times as if your shoulder had a mind of its own?  Are the two of you back in sync now?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Oh, god.  (Laughter.)

            Back in sync?  Yeah.  I mean, my shoulder ‑‑ I still do a lot of work on it and I still treat it every day.  I do a lot more exercises on it than any other part of my body.  But it's normal.

            Sometimes I have to, you know, adjust if sometimes if the weather changes, things like that.  But my shoulder feels really good.

            Q.  Do you ever say, "Come on" in Russian?  You always seem to say is in English during a match.

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  I do sometimes.  I do say other things in Russian, too, that you don't want to know.

            Q.  I think the only tennis player ever to win their first four slams on different surfaces was Agassi, and then he wins more.  Of course if you win this you're going to have four on different surfaces.  I know you know him a little bit.  He's a little bit older.  He started fast like you did, kind of went down, and had the comeback.  Any similarities between you and him?  And did you ever take inspiration from what he did?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  Um, I think he's achieved way more in his career than I have, so it's pretty tough to sit here and compare myself.  I admire him for all his achievements, for the way that he was able to come back and not really care about the outside world and just go for what he believed he had in him.

            I think he's also been an incredible example of someone that's done way beyond, you know, what he ever thought that the sport would give him.  And even though he's not part of the sport now and he's not playing, I feel like he's helping so many children and people around the world.

            That, I think, is more incredible than tennis itself.

            Q.  Outside of the slams, younger players have been doing extremely well in the slams.  Like this time again, all four semifinalists are veterans:  a 29 year old, 31 year old, and then you and Marion are close in age.  Is that because of experience?  Is that because their quality isn't quite there?  Can you just talk a little bit about that?

            MARIA SHARAPOVA:  I'm not sure.  I don't know.  I don't know, really.  I'm not really sure how to answer that question.

            I think experience helps, but ‑‑ I don't know.  Tough question.  Sorry.

Roland Garros May 30 2011 - Maria Sharapova

M. SHARAPOVA/A. Radwanska

7 6, 7 5

MARIA SHARAPOVA

Q. Congratulations.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Thank you.

Q. It was a big fight again. Can you talk about each time you got your back on the wall you're finding your way back in the match and to turn this around.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, from the beginning I had quite a slow start today. It was 1 4 and 15 40, so I think the one thing that really saved me in the first set was I served really well and kept her off balance and started playing better.
That gave me a lot of confidence. I had the chance to be up 3 0, could have been 4 0 in the second set, and just kind of rolled the other way. She had so many chances.
Overall it was just really tough. I played smart when I needed to be smart and was patient at the right times.
Yeah.

Q. Now you're going to play against Petkovic like in Melbourne. Talk about this next battle.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, we played in Melbourne. Also in played Miami, you know, a month or so ago. Yeah, she's a very tough opponent. She is also quite good on this surface and moves very well. She'll use that to her advantage.
But, yeah, it'll be tough. I'll go out there and try to win that match.
Are you observing the picture?

Q. Yes. I'm trying to frame my question.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, around the picture?

Q. Yes.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why are you giving it to me?

Q. Because I want to ask you a question.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Okay.

Q. So, Maria, we had some fun in the pressroom about the official publication of the tournament's with that little headline. Does that give you a laugh? What you are your thoughts?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. It's just a cover of a paper. That's it for me.
About, you mean, the headline?

Q. Yes.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, there have been so many headlines thought my career, and this is just another one. (Laughing.)

Q. If I could switch to tennis...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yes. Let me give this back to you. I don't want myself staring at me. (Laughter.)

Q. So just talk about your serve. How is your feel on it? Number of double faults today, but you seemed to be going for it on the second.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I did. Um, yeah, I thought the serve saved me in the first set. I served really well. I think that that gave me confidence throughout my whole game, because from the beginning I was just making I was making errors, all of them kind of went long.
I thought I served my way out of the first set there. You know, there was a little dip in the second set, but overall I felt pretty good and I felt confident on it.

Q. What would it mean to you win this tournament, Maria?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, this tournament has a very rich history. It's one that I've always said would be the most challenging for me to win. But I've always worked really hard on trying to get myself prepared as well as I could for it, you know, physically and mentally, knowing that sometimes you just have to be more patient than maybe in other points in other tournaments.
Yeah, a lot of it is preparation and just going out there and believing in what you have done before and the way you prepared.

Q. The first two matches you had with her this year you split, and they were on hardcourt. Do they have really no impact on your preparation? Is it a whole different thing going out on clay against her?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Um, I guess. I think every match for me is different. I mean, you look back at a few things that maybe helped you or maybe changed things around if you were down or what you did to change.
You know, I had lost that first set in Miami, so, yeah, just maybe looking back on those things.
But as far as, yeah, it's really about it's really another match, a new one.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit what your coach Thomas mean to you and how it all started, why you started working together?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why?

Q. What does he mean to you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I've said it a few times. He's brought a really great work ethic into my tennis, into my practices. A lot positive energy. He's been a great new voice for me and something that I needed.
When you've had a coach for many, many years, sometimes it's not even about new things that are being said. Maybe sometimes it's the same things, but coming from a different person in a little bit of a different way, gets to you differently.
Yeah, he's pushed me and believes in me. He's also coached against me, which I like.
So, yeah.

Q. You won three tournaments on clay, and then Rome. How important was Rome for you? Before you had just Strasbourg and not great, great clay court season. How important was Rome? And what is the difference that you find between the Rome tournament and this one?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, Rome brought me a lot of confidence because I beat players that have had a lot of their success on clay and were maybe favorites against me on clay courts and I was able to beat them.
And, yeah, I felt like I improved as the tournament went on. That certainly gives me a lot confidence.
But when you get to the next tournament it starts from scratch. You start from the first round and you face different opponents and it's a new day.
Everything is different. We have a different ball. The courts are a little bit different. The atmosphere.
Yeah, but it's really about adjusting and taking that confidence, but also knowing that it's not going to be the same.

Q. You once famously described yourself on clay as cow on ice.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uh huh. And I don't regret it. I really don't.

Q. What is your comfortable level now on it? Obviously you've come a long, long way.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I've certainly improved. When I said that comment I was referring to the first few days and weeks on clay when you're after you've played on hard court for such a long time, it's such a different feeling.
Used to be tough for me to move around and get back into position. Also I mentioned recovering from tough matches and going into the next ones was quite difficult for me maybe four years ago or so. I feel like that's the one thing that I've really improved and I've really worked hard on.

Q. The other day you spoke of your love of street culture. Obviously Paris is quite different from L.A. or New York or other capitals. Talk a little bit about Paris's culture, street culture.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think it's classic and I think it's unpretentious. The whole city is beautiful. I think people take part in the beauty of it and they come here and enjoy every little angle and aspect of it.
I unfortunately haven't had that amount of time to be able to browse and to go in different areas as much as I would have liked to in the past.
But that's something I can't wait to come back when I have more time. It's one of the cities I would love to even have an apartment or just browse.
You know, I'm kind of stuck around the hotel. But hopefully one day.

Roland Garros May 28 2011 - Maria Sharapova

M. SHARAPOVA/Y. Chan

6 2, 6 3

MARIA SHARAPOVA


Q. Can we say you were totally in control today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I felt like I was in control most of the match. I only got broken once I believe in the second set, and I served really well throughout the match. You know, I took my chances when I had them.
So, yeah, I was quite pleased after playing a three set match that I had a quicker one today.

Q. So you've got Radwanska. You've played her a number of times, I think only once on clay, though, Istanbul. But she's obviously a tough out on clay. She moves well, gets a lot of balls back. You want to just talk about that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it will be a really tough match because I think this is one of her best surfaces. She's a really good mover and moves well on clay and gets a lot of balls back, and just be important to be aggressive and look for my opportunities to move forward.

Q. So is there any shot you're really not confident in right now?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I can still be a little bit more aggressive. I definitely feel like some balls I was a little bit late today.
But, yeah, just looking to move forward a little bit more.

Q. You had a very long injury to the shoulder some time ago. I wanted to know how it is difficult to live eight months without playing tennis. Do you have time to think for the first time to the life behind tennis? How did you live that time?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it definitely opens your eyes and you see things from a different view, because usually when you're waking up every single morning everything is on autopilot; that you're going to wake up and put my Nike clothes on and go and train. It's a routine. And then you have a tournament.
So when you don't have that for a long time, you, you know definitely opens your eyes and you start thinking a little bit.
I missed it a lot, and I wanted to get back to it as quickly as I could.

Q. Do you think that your amazing comeback that you did against Garcia, do you think that it added some kind of self confidence to what you might do here in Roland Garros; that maybe this might be the year where you'll be more successful than the others? Has it given you any extra belief?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You know, I was just really happy to come back, you know, from that, from the position that I was in. I certainly wasn't thinking, Oh, if I come back in this match and I end up winning it's going to give me so much confidence.
You just try to fight for every point in order to win the match. And then when you do, you have the next match ahead of you, and that keeps going.
Every day is different, and you face different opponents. And you can never be overly confident, because if you are, then I don't think you push yourself, you motivate yourself enough, you know.

Q. You're obviously getting deep into a run at a slam, but if you could step back and just talk about women's tennis in general. A lot of developments are going on. Older players, a lot of upsets, near upsets, no dominant player. Fewer Americans. Can you give us a sense of what your read is?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I honestly don't know. I have enough trouble focusing and knowing what's on my agenda and my schedule.
You know, I'm mostly just selfishly worrying about myself and just trying to win matches. It's tough to focus on what's going on around you and whether, you know, someone's on a comeback or playing well or losing or what.
It's really none of my business, to be honest.

Q. Well, in terms of your business, do you think now that you've been on the circuit for a good while and a lot of ups and downs, do you think this experience is really kicking in and is a significant plus at this point?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, it's definitely beneficial, because I know no matter what position I am in my career, I have the experience. I've been on the tour many years. I have played many matches. I've won some. I've lost tough ones. I've won tough ones.
I look back to that, and I know that I have that in my mind when I'm playing current matches. That helps me a lot.
So it's certainly helpful to have, you know, big wins at Grand Slams and to have tough losses from which I've come back and made myself stronger. You learn a lot from before.

Q. Patty Schnyder called an end to her career today. Can you comment on her impact in tennis in general and maybe about your experiences with her?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, she gave me lots of trouble. She did. She had a nasty left hander everything. I remember playing a tough match against her here, I think. I don't know if she had a couple of match points or something, but it was one of the early rounds at Roland Garros.
Especially when I was younger, she just played this cat and mouse game, and sometimes you just felt like the silly mouse.
No, she gave me tough ones. And she's had a really long career. I mean, when I was young and coming up, she was actually in the top 10, top 20 or something. Yeah.

Q. Before what you did in Rome, would you have expected to get into the second week here looking so strong, feeling so confident?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Um, I mean, you plan on it, because that's where you want to be. I just plan on trying to win my next match, whether that's before my first round, my second, before the second week or whatever it is.

Q. You have changed your racquet and you have changed your long time coach in the beginning of this year, and looks like you are really eager to win another slam or to come back to No. 1. In order to do that, I assume you have made top 10 a decision. Could you talk a little bit about that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I made a couple of changes. I switched racquets in November, which I was very happy about. It was one of the first few racquets I picked up and I loved from the first ball I hit with it, and I knew I would be making that switch.
As far as the coaching, yeah, it was definitely a tough change, because I worked with Michael Joyce for almost seven years. You know, he was a really good friend of mine.
I had a certain routine. After a really long time when that changes, it's tough to mentally make that big of a change to say I'm going to go for something different. But I think it was the right thing. I needed a new perspective. Yeah.

Q. Rafael Nadal said earlier today he is 24 but feels like he's been playing on the tour for 100 years. How do you feel to that regard?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I'm sure he said that because we even though maybe we started playing professionally, I think I did when I was 14 or something, and we started playing tennis from a very young age, and, you know, we've done this for almost all our lives, so we feel like we're on this sort of hamster carousel and we just keep going. It's true.
I think that's why it feels like every year we come back and, you know, like, Oh, nothing changes, and next year you come back, Oh, nothing changes. Same old same press conference room, same court, same people. Yeah. I think that makes you feel old.

Roland Garros. May 26 2001 - Maria Sharapova

M. SHARAPOVA/C. Garcia

3 6, 6 4, 6 0


MARIA SHARAPOVA


Q. You told courtside that you made some adjustments to your game during the match. Can you please elaborate.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, first of all, I think I relaxed and just, you know, let things happen. I think I was way too concerned about the conditions and wasn't moving my feet and just was really slow, and she was playing aggressive and, you know, hitting great shots. I just felt flat footed in the beginning.
I just hit the ball finally.

Q. The American Jim Courier when he was criticized for his lack of weapons said going for the lines at crunch time, hitting all out when everything is on the line is a skill and a talent. Could you talk about that sense of fight? Also, compare your intensity and your will to win with the caliber of others, with Serena and with Justine?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I just never think that the match is over until it actually is. I think that no matter what situation you're put in, no matter how good or bad you feel, you've got to finish the match.
Like I said, I never really felt comfortable throughout that match. I was just really trying to find my own rhythm. You know, more than anything I was just trying to be more consistent and not, you know, maybe make her hit the errors instead.
She'd hit a great first shot and then I just wouldn't hit the ball. I felt like I was flat footed. More than anything, I felt like I had to make a few changes, which I did. I made the adjustment. That was really important.
As far as the fighting, I think, yeah, it's important to fight. You know, it's not my job to compare myself to other players, but I'm certainly I'll never give up out there, yeah.

Q. You won Wimbledon when you were only a junior. What is your opinion of this new girl, she's 17, Caroline Garcia?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I don't think I was a junior at 17. I had been on the tour for I think maybe two or three years then. At 16 I got to the fourth round of Wimbledon, so I had been on the tour for a while. It's not like I came into Wimbledon at 17 and didn't have any big match experience behind my back.
But I thought she played really well today, first set and a half. She served well, and as the match went on, I felt like her pace went down, you know, especially on her serve. Yeah, it's a new experience for her.

Q. Did you say something to Caroline Garcia after the game?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. I didn't see her after the game.

Q. Why?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I didn't see her after the game.

Q. Andy Murray tweeted that one day she will be world No. 1. What's your take on that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Who?

Q. Caroline Garcia. Murray said that.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I think time will definitely tell. It's a long road and a long journey. There will be many wins and many losses. It's tough for me to tell, but she's on her way up, definitely.

Q. You've had so many great battles, came out on front, on some others not; some tough losses at slams, as well. Can you compare this to any of your other really tough matches and even some of the ones that you did lose?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, look, it could have easily gone the other way today, but I think I knew I had to make an adjustment, and it's tough to compare this to other matches. Every match is a new match. You're playing against different types of opponents, and, you know, more than anything I felt like I really stepped up. And that was needed if I wanted to win this match.

Q. At some point the wind was a problem for you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think just in the beginning I was just, you know, instead of going out and playing my game, I was a little bit worried about the wind and the conditions and the way she was playing instead of just focusing on myself.
Yeah, I think in the beginning it affected me, definitely.

Q. The public was okay? Do you know you were playing a French girl, they should go against you, but you felt it was okay? Or how did you feel down there?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's understandable. You're playing a French Open and you're playing against an up and coming young player that's in the second round of the French Open at 17.
Of course, they're going to be behind her. That's definitely understandable.