MARIA SHARAPOVA

Maria Sharapova won M. Camerin 6-2, 7-6 in Pre Quarter Finals of Pacific Life Open 2006, Miami, Florida.

#What could you say about the match?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Yeah, I didn’t really feel great out there today. You know, I started off well and things were going my way and all of a sudden, you know, just made a lot of unforced errors, especially with the wind. All my balls were floating out.

Couldn’t quite get the feel out there or the rhythm, so, you know, moving was difficult for some reason. Maybe because I played — went to sleep a little bit late so was a little bit lousy on the court.

But she hit some great shots. She hit the ball very deep and hard and she played like she had nothing to lose. You know, it’s kind of dangerous when you play those opponents that don’t have anything to lose and go for their shots.

I fought for it. I did a good job of fighting at the end. When the day’s not great, when you feel like you’re not playing your best tennis, I still know that I can fight it out, and that’s how I win most — a lot of my matches.

# What time did you get back and were able to go to sleep?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Probably like at 12.

# What time did you have to get up and get back here to get ready?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:I got up at 8 or something like that.

# So how do you prepare for such a quick turnaround?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Well, you don’t really prepare, you just have to go with the flow. You know, you have to make sure you eat well, late and early. You don’t really have an appetite, but you somehow have to create one.

You know, that’s really important, the food intake and a good night’s rest. Sometimes it’s difficult coming off a night match to sleep well, but that’s, you know, very important to be ready for the next match.

# What would you say about the HawkEye, the challenge?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:What can I say about it, it’s interesting. I think it’s, in a way, great. I also think that a lot of balls, you know, are a little bit — you know, they’re out and you know they’re out but they’re close. I think the fans just want to see for entertainment. They start booing and they want to hear the entertainment, they want to see it on the screen. Sometimes it gets a little too much because you know the ball was out or you know the ball was in, you’re not going to challenge it but they kind of try to force you into it.

But that’s the fans and that’s the entertainment part of it. But, you know, we had to expect that.

# The numbers show that the player challenges have not been particularly successful, especially the women’s side. Any thoughts on that?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:You know, we have the challenges and if we feel like we need to use them, then why not? You know, if we have the opportunity. Yesterday, I used two of them and they were later in the set where, you know, I still have two and I haven’t used them, you know, just to see.

But, you know, I don’t — if you have the opportunity and you feel like you want to use it, you know, we’re not doing something illegal.

# You just wanted to test it out? You didn’t think the balls you questioned?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:One of them I wanted to know and one of them I wasn’t sure and I asked the umpire if it was far long. She couldn’t give me a definite answer. I said why not, it was in the second set, I think. It turned out to be a pretty big out, but she didn’t really — you know, that’s the thing, I want to still find out if I can ask her “did she see it very long?” If she did, there’s no point in asking. But if it was really close and she doesn’t really know, then I would challenge it.

# Do you like it or not like it so far?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Yeah, I like it. I think it makes the match a lot more closer, more intriguing and more fun.

# Will it be hard playing a friend?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Yeah, it’s always hard playing a friend, you know. We’ve played a few times in the past. Last time was not a good experience for me. I was injured in Beijing and she was playing great tennis.

So, you know, she’s a great athlete. She can definitely play the game. And, you know, like I said, it’s always tough playing a friend, but that’s tennis. You know, you’re gonna play your buddies once in a while.

# She got up pretty big early in that second set. She was up 5-2. You were down 40-Love, I think it was.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Uh-hmm.

# Mentally, how did you get yourself back to be able to win that third point?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Yeah, I just tried to get another ball back, make her force the error. She’s up 40-Love, serving for it so, you know, she wants to close it out. It’s in her hands, you know. I just try to get another ball back and, I mean, on 40-30 I hit a lefty shot that kind of floated up in the air. I mean, it was a pretty good shot. She missed a swinging volley. I think she kind of lost her confidence from then on.

# Haven’t won many of those left-handed shots, have you?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:I haven’t?

# No.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Uhm, I have — it has saved me a lot in my career.

# Yeah?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:Yeah, definitely.

# I haven’t seen you win many of those.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:No, no, I’ve…

I remember I’ve won a lot. Some balls where I feel I can’t reach with the two-handed backhand, that’s when I do it. Obviously, I don’t have that much power from that side, but that’s the only chance I’ve got. So I remember I hit some great, great ones at Wimbledon last year and the year before, but no.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Maria.

MODERATOR: I just wanted to know a little bit about your outfit. This is the first time you debuted it. You were pulling at it, tugging at it a little.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was different to anything I’ve ever worn. I mean, the corset is — I mean, I’ve never seen it on a tennis court before. Nike just came out with a dance collection. I saw some of the stuff, and I was really intrigued by it and I loved it because I love dance and I love art. They came up with the idea of trying to incorporate it into a tennis outfit so it was really cool that they had a skirt that was in the dance line. And we just kind of fitted it.

It was coming up a little bit, so I had to tug it down, but I’ll fix it for my next match. But the corset, I loved, it was beautiful.

MODERATOR: Can you talk about the beginning of the second set when you fell down a little bit.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I played — when I broke her I played a really sloppy game on my serve. I made about — missed six out of seven first serves, which, you know, I was serving great in the first set and all of a sudden just didn’t make any first serves.

And, you know, she took advantage of that, gained confidence from that, and started hitting winners left and right. Credit to her, she played good and I got a little bit sloppy.

So, you know, I just kind of told myself I needed to step in a little bit, put a little bit more pressure on her.

MODERATOR: Were you nervous at all seeing all these other top-rated players that had gone down early?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I mean, you try not to, you try not to think about it when you go on the court. Of course it’s disappointing for the tournament. But, you know, it’s hard to look at that when you have your own draw to look at.

MODERATOR: Did it feel at all like the crowd was pro Li? At some point it seemed like she was getting loud cheers. Did you feel they were with you, against you?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think the crowd just wants a really good match. I think they, once the first set was over pretty easily with two breaks, they were just trying to get her going. That’s part of the sport. That’s why it’s great. I love it when the fans try to bring out the best of tennis out there from both of the players.

MODERATOR: What changed in the middle of that second set when you kind of started to get

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I just stepped in the court a little bit more and just put some pressure on her. She started making a little bit more unforced errors. She was hitting winners left and right when she was getting up to 4-1. She was going for it and missed a few.

MODERATOR: Justine, Clijsters and Mirza lost. Do you think it was a surprise?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, obviously, yeah, they’re the top seeds of the tournament. Of course it’s a surprise.

But, you know, Kim hasn’t played in a while. It’s always difficult to come back from not playing a while and playing great tennis. I mean, I know what it feels like. Last year I wasn’t playing a lot of tennis and had to come into the Grand Slam without having a lot of matches and it’s very difficult. You know, for Justine, you know, it’s hard to say, she played last week. This is tennis, the good thing is you always have next week.

MODERATOR: What do you think it means for you now and the tournament?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I just have to take it a match at a time. I mean, I’m not going to focus on who’s out or in.

MODERATOR: You have another match tomorrow afternoon.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uh-hmm, yeah.

MODERATOR: What do you think about that quick turnaround?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it’s different, but I’ve done it before and, you know, it’s nothing new. Just got to get a good night’s sleep and be ready for tomorrow.

“My body is just not ready after two tough tournaments to go and play Fed Cup,” is what Maria Sharapova said as reason behind her decision to skip Fed Cup this year.

Maria Sharapova, a resident of Florida, USA, never represented Russia in Fed Cup, told last month in Dubai, “It’s quite untrue that I don’t want to play for Russia, I have a Russian heart.”

The Russian Glamour Girl of Tennis, Maria Sharapova told that it wouldn’t be easier to play in Fed Cup after taxing schedule, Pacific Life Open in Indian Wellis Tennis Garden and NADDAQ-100 in Miami, Florida.

Anastasia Myskina, Former French Open champion also decided to skip Russia’s forthcoming Fed Cuptie against Belgium, saying “This year I want to play for myself. I’ve played every time they asked me to play again, but it’s been too much now.”

Meantime Belgium players Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters have confirmed their playing for Belgium in the April tie. For the first time they have teamed up together since 2003.