MARIA SHARAPOVA

Maria Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters in a hard fought US Open semi final 2-6, 7-6, 3-6.

Maria Sharapova’s US Open semi final post match interview menuscript:

Q. What happened? You were able to get it going during the tiebreak when she was serving for the set, you hit those points. What was going on?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I kind of gave it all I had in the tiebreaker. Then the third, just kind of ran out of gas basically.

Q. You’ve got to believe there’s something unfair about a sport that ‑‑

THE MODERATOR: Excuse me, sir. Thank you. Next question, please.

Q. You fought so hard to get back in the third set. You played great points to fight off the matchpoints. Talk about after you come out after the bathroom break.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, well, at that point it’s pretty tough because physically I didn’t feel like once the points were getting longer, obviously, it was at Kim’s advantage.

You know, like I said, physically, you know, I still have to get a lot better and, you know, I have to play these three‑setters. You know, the points are going to go on and on and on.

You know, this is not something that’s going to happen overnight. I’m only 18 and this is going to take time. My body is still growing and still adjusting, you know, to my own body.

But, you know, I gave it all I had. I fought really well in the second and just kind of went downhill from there.

Q. You must be really disappointed. Winning this tournament would really solidify your position at No. 1. It’s a bizarre time in women’s tennis. It’s been about two years since the reigning World 1 has won a Grand Slam?>

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Look, I mean, to be No. 1 at 18 is a pretty amazing achievement, so I don’t know what’s so bitter about that.

Q. Physically, you even fought back in the third set. You were hitting the returns. You were hitting the forehands. Did you not feel right there at the end that you could push through her? >

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I just, you know, when the points started getting longer and longer, I felt that she had the advantage. She was able to execute them well. Yes, I did have opportunities, and going into the net, and she came up with great shots.

You know, one or two points, and you never know what could have happened. But, you know, credit to her, you know; she played well when she needed to.

Q. Your dad’s taking a little criticism for being so vocal during your matches. He was notably quieter today. Was there a connection between those two things? >

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. I ‑‑ no. I don’t really pay attention to that, no.

Q. How do you feel that people were on your side?>

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, well, I think once I saved those matchpoints, I think obviously they wanted a better match, because after the first set it looked like it wasn’t going to be much of a match.

So I think the crowd obviously got into it and that’s normal. But, yeah, didn’t really, uhm…

Q. What happened in that first set?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: In the first set? I wasn’t hitting my serves. I, you know, broke her, returned great in the first game, then she broke me back. Also, the conditions also were not that easy. I mean, the wind was swirling in that stadium. Against the wind, you know, against such a player that has such powerful and heavy, deep strokes, I mean, it’s difficult.

I just felt like I was late and couldn’t find my rhythm in the first.

Q. What are her greatest strengths?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: That she’s able to make you hit another ball and, you know, when she gets an opportunity her ball is very heavy and big. I mean, the pace of her shots are very big. Her movement.

I mean…

Q. Does it give you a sense of futility that there’s an unfairness about a sport in which you could play as well as you played today, and still lose? I think you could have beaten Bill Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez and Lew Hoad the way you played today, yet you still lost.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Is that a compliment or not? I can’t quite understand. I mean, I’m sorry… (laughing).

Q. The biggest. >

MARIA SHARAPOVA: (Laughing).

Q. How do you see the matchup in the final? What do you think between Clijsters and Pierce?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Unfortunately, the tournament’s over for me, so I don’t like to think of that.

Q. You made the point you’re still only 18, still very young. When do you think you will be at your peak, when you will be…

MARIA SHARAPOVA: When I feel that I will be, I’ll let you know. But it’s hard, it’s hard to say. I mean, when I was 14, I didn’t tell you that I would win Wimbledon at 17 or become No. 1 at 18. So, I mean…

You just never know. When the time comes, the time’s right, then it will happen. But, you know, takes a lot of work and I’m willing to go back on the practice court and in the gym, whatever I need to do, and work harder to, you know, to win the Grand Slams.

Q. In the first changeover, at the end of the first set, what were you thinking, what did you make up your mind to change going into the second set? >

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, well, I mean, the first set was really downhill for me. I mean, I don’t think there was one positive thing in the first set that I really did. So, you know, I kind of thought, “You just have to change a few things.”

But I didn’t feel that great in the second as well. I kind of felt like I was down and, you know, just was able to keep up, keep up, then kind of ‑‑ I don’t know how I won that second set, so…

Q. How would you describe the way she covers the court and how many balls she gets to? How would you describe that?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Great athleticism. I mean, yeah, she’s, you know, she’s a great athlete. She moves amazing, amazingly. I mean, that’s a big plus in tennis.

Q. Have there been times when you thought points against her are over and they’re not?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, that’s one of the things I said, she makes you hit an extra ball, yeah.

Q. Are you disappointed? Do you feel like you could have played better and you actually could have won that match, or are you thinking you’re still a year or two away conditioning‑wise from being able to beat someone like her?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, yes and no. I mean, of course it’s always disappointing. I mean, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not here telling you that I feel great losing.

But, I mean, there are so many things ‑‑ yeah, I think there are so many things that I think I can still improve to become better and to be able to pull these matches out. But, you know, I thought I did everything I could and, you know, just one of those days where you did everything you could, but it didn’t really go your way.

So, I mean, you know, bad day at the office. What can you say?

Q. Is this for you the most physically demanding of the four majors?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean the French also is pretty physically demanding as well as Australia, and the surface is slower than here.

Q. How long will this one stay with you? Is it gone tomorrow morning?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah, it will be gone soon, yeah.

Q. Will you hang around New York and attend fashion week?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I will, yes.

Q. What shows?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: The Marc Jacobs show Monday night.

Q. Is it tough after a loss like that to come in here and have to dissect it?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It’s normal. I’m pretty used to it. Just kind of, I guess, tell your feelings, get it out of the way (laughing).

Q. What aspects of your game do you think you need to improve to win a match like this?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Like I said, I think it’s all about physical. I don’t think there’s something technique‑wise or a stroke in my game that, I mean, that I need to improve tremendously. I mean, yes, I can add power and, uhm, consistency in my shots. But I think, you know, today’s match was a great example, it was just physical.

Q. What about strategy, like rushing the net?

THE MODERATOR: Okay, anything else? Thank you.

Russian Teenager and number one seeded Maria Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters 2-6, 7-6, 3-6.

Maria Sharapova was hurt by an inconsistent in her serve that produced seven double faults, many coming at most inopportune times.

Maria Sharapova lost all four of her service games in the first set, winning just five points on serve and yielding the last game of the set on a double fault.

It was Clijsters’ fourth win without a defeat against Maria Sharapova, including a straight-sets win over the Russian teen tennis star in the final in Miami earlier this year.

US Open 2005 finals will have Frenchwoman Mary Pierce who won over sixth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and Kim Clijsters.

MARIA SHARAPOVA reached semifinals by defeating, ninth seed and fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Q. The expression on your face at the end of this match seemed to say, “I’m glad this is over with and I’m getting out of here with a win.”
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, because after the second set I didn’t feel like my game was there. I felt like I was making too many errors. Mentally I wasn’t there. I just didn’t have any motivation. And then I just, yeah, I wasn’t fighting out there basically in the second set. It’s like I was giving it up, you know. I felt like I thought the match was just one set, you know, I won the first set and I felt like for some reason it was over. You know, she’s not going to give it up. You know, then I started playing better in the third. Had great passing shots when I needed them to break her.

Q. What did you say to the chair umpire when you wanted the let played on the ball that went into the stands?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I said that the ball bounced ‑‑ that the ball bounced on the court in the middle of the point, and she said she did not see the ball. And I said, “Well, there’s 20,000 people in the stands that saw the ball except you and I think we need to replay the point.” She said, “I didn’t see it.”

Q. It came from behind you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, well, I can’t put a third eye on my left side, so not too much I can do.

Q. You seemed very emotional, trying to pump yourself up. Was that unusual? Were you just trying to get motivated?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Like I said, I don’t think I was there in the second set, you know. It wasn’t Maria that you usually see on the court, fighting out there, fighting for every single point. I was just mentally kind of down and, you know, just said, “Hey, got to get back to work now.”

Q. Could it possibly be that you had four matches which you went through pretty quickly out there, the first four rounds, and it’s always nice to be able to cruise into the quarterfinals but she had a fairly tough match in her fourth round against Vaidisova. Could that have been a factor where she was ready for something tougher, where you were looking at your first tough match of the tournament?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I knew it was going to be tough. I came out hitting a lot of winners. I felt like I was playing great. You know, she broke me once, all of a sudden she started playing well. She started, you know, hitting the ball, hitting good shots. And, you know, all of a sudden you stop and you think “What happened? I was up 4‑0 and now it’s back to 4‑All.” I mean, coming into the match I knew it was going to be a tough match. I knew it was not going to be a walk in the park. This is the quarterfinal of a US Open.

Q. Is she a tough opponent for you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: She has a very big game and, you know, she has a big serve. If someone’s serve is on, I guess there’s not too much you can do. But, yeah, she does, she has a big game for sure.

Q. She made a comment, she said that she thought that after the bathroom break you didn’t seem like the same player when you came back.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: After which one? I went to change in between.

Q. I think it was the first one.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: The first one, well, I had to go to the bathroom since the first game so after that, you know… I don’t know. Maybe I just let it all out, I mean (laughing).

Q. You feel that you came back, you know, there was nothing ‑‑
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Did she mean in a good way?

Q. Just a comment she made. After the bathroom break…
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I started playing better or worse?

Q. I think she said you were playing worse. You were strong, had a bathroom break, for a period of time you didn’t seem like you were the same player?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: So after the bathroom break I was playing better?

Q. Worse.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Worse. I don’t know.

Q. After the break.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, so I was…

Q. That’s why she was wondering, what happened during the break.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was actually a pretty quick break. I mean, the bathroom is right outside the court, yeah.

Q. If you play Venus Williams, given how she has been playing since Wimbledon, what do you see as the biggest challenge in going up against her?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I just have to be mentally ready for a very tough battle. Every single point is going to be long and it’s just a matter of who wants it more and who is willing to be out there longer.

Q. How would you compare and contrast your styles?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, we both hit a pretty big shot. I think we’re both really tough. We don’t want to lose out there. But I don’t know.

Q. Can you talk more about this final game. You were so close to being 5‑5 in the third set. You were able to battle back and pull out the match. What was going through your mind?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: That’s kind of why I had the ref at the end because, you know, it would have been a totally different match. Who knows what would have happened at 5‑All? But, you know, just hung in there and, you know, I know she got a little bit tight serving at 40‑15; she made a double. Then hit a pretty easy backhand, I think. And I was, you know ‑‑ hit a good return on matchpoint, she hit a great serve wide. I managed to get it back. You know, her ball was a little bit out. That’s the way tennis goes. You know, sometimes it goes in; sometimes it goes out.

Q. It really was a sensational final point. Were you thinking “backhand side” and guessing more where she was going?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think her best serve is down the T, I would say. But she likes to mix it up. She likes to mix it up in the ad court. But she has a big serve. I mean, either way it goes, it’s pretty flat. But she can surprise you once in a while, and I think I was leaning towards that and that’s why I was, you know, I was kind of on the run.

Q. You were saying earlier you were trying to figure out why you didn’t have any motivation. How did you feel coming on to the court? Did you feel good, did you feel sharp?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, well, I mean, I started at 4‑0 playing great, so of course I felt good. But, you know, things can turn around really quickly. Momentum can change. You know, just felt like there were a lot of up and downs. You feel like you’re playing good, you make great shots, then all of a sudden, you know, things don’t go…(inaudible). You’re making errors, she starts picking it up, you know, she starts playing a higher level. I don’t know, I just felt it was up and down.