MARIA SHARAPOVA

Former World Number 1 and last years runner up Maria Sharapova, lost to former US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the NASDAQ 100 open ‘All Russian’ finals 6-4, 6-3.

Manuscript of post match interview with runner-up Maria Sharapova.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You obviously had a tough match on Thursday, did that affect your game today?

Maria Sharapova Yeah, I think physically it was very difficult to keep up with Svetlana today. She was able to come back from tough points and play a few more. I was just not able to keep up with that pace, and that was the key.

Q. Do you feel you at least tried to introduce a bit of variety into your game?

Maria Sharapova Yeah, I tried to mix it up when I was down a break. Figured why not, try a little something, get the points over with a little quicker.

Q. Did you feel coming in like you were going to struggle a little, or did you feel like you’d be able to pull it out today? When you went out there, did you feel good?

Maria Sharapova Obviously, I felt a little tired but that’s normal after playing four straight weeks. I mean, I’m not gonna feel great. My body’s not gonna feel great. That’s absolutely normal.

But, you know, I just have to give it all I had, and I tried. But, you know, at the end of the day, just come up short. That’s all right.

Q. How frustrated were you? Can you talk about managing your frustrations as the match went on.

Maria Sharapova I wasn’t frustrated. Not at all.

Q. Are you happy?

Maria Sharapova Am I happy? Yeah, I’m happy. I’ve done amazing. I mean, you know, to be able to win 11 straight matches, you know, get three finals in a row, I think that’s pretty consistent.

Q. Did the crowd bother you at all today?

Maria Sharapova The crowd? Why would they bother me?

Q. The whole air plane thing?

Maria Sharapova Yeah, that airplane thing, I think we got the point that there was a soccer match or something going on. It only circled around about 50 times. I mean…

It was pretty, pretty weird.

Q. You’ve beaten her the last couple times you played. Was there something different in her game today?

Maria Sharapova I just think I came up short on some of those long points. I just wasn’t physically, you know, ready to run down a lot of balls. You know, when I hit great shots, she picked up the ball on the rise pretty early and was able to hit a bigger shot. And, you know, my feet didn’t quite move, move to the second balls that she hit deep and hard.

Q. You attribute it to your play, not to her play?

Maria Sharapova No — I mean, there are some things that, you know, you look to, I don’t know, a way to keep her off balance. But, I mean, my game is, you know, never to worry about what other players are doing. I’ve always played by instinct. Of course there are some things in your mind where, you know, a person has a weakness or a strength and try to change it up, whatever.

But today, you know, I wanted to play my game but it was just hard. I couldn’t really keep up with the pace of the match.

Q. You’re not that far apart in age. You obviously left Russia when you were pretty young. When do you first remember becoming aware of Svetlana? Did you play her in Juniors?

Maria Sharapova No, never.

Q. When was the first time you had awareness?

Maria Sharapova I think when I started playing pro, yeah.

Q. You said you weren’t frustrated at all throughout the match. Can you just talk about your mindset as you went down on some of the breaks. Just what was going through your mind? What were you telling yourself?

Maria Sharapova I was just trying to hang in there. I mean, like I said, it was just too good from her. You know, when you’re down a set and a break, I mean, you just try to give it all you have in the end. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Like I said, I was just trying a few little different things. But just too good.

Q. What do you suppose went wrong with your forehand?

Maria Sharapova I don’t know what went wrong. What did go wrong?

Q. You made an awful lot of errors.

Maria Sharapova She probably forced the errors. She made me go for bigger shots. You know, sometimes when you try to go for bigger shots, you hit a few errors.

Q. You seemed a little withdrawn early in the match.

Maria Sharapova Withdrawn?

Q. Yeah.

Maria Sharapova Can you give me the definition of that?

Q. You didn’t seem to have quite the intensity you often have.

Maria Sharapova No, I was just calm. I mean, I don’t know. No real reason. I wasn’t sick or anything.

Q. What’s been your perception of her career since she won that US Open?

Maria Sharapova Of her career?

Q. Uh-hmm.

Maria Sharapova I think to be a Grand Slam champion, obviously never underestimate someone that’s won a Grand Slam. She had a tough year last year but she’s definitely playing a lot better. I haven’t played her in a whole year, but she’s definitely improved since I’ve seen some of her matches on TV from last year.

Q. In what aspect?

Maria Sharapova I think she’s gotten more confidence now. I mean, she’s always going to be a big hitter. That’s going to be always her strength. She’s going to mix it up. She moves really well and makes you hit another ball. But I think confidence has a lot to do with it. When you’re confident, you can do that all day.

Q. The crowd laughed at the very end there when you went after that shot.

Maria Sharapova What?

Q. At the end when you went after that ball and made a noise, the crowd sort of laughed at that. Were you almost having a sense of humor at that point? That wasn’t a grunt, it was something that sounded more conscious.

Maria Sharapova I don’t know. I didn’t really mean to do that. It just kind of came out (smiling).

Yeah, I guess — I mean, at that point of the match, maybe trying all these different things, maybe if you laugh, something will happen.

Q. Were you concerned about how the crowd might perceive you after the Golovin match?

Maria Sharapova No, I don’t pay attention to that.

Maria Sharapova won hard fought three set semi final match at NASDAQ 100 Open, against French women Tatiana Golovin, who retired after rolled her left ankle, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 4-3. All Russian Finals is set on Saturday as former US Open champion — will face Maria sharapova.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How would you sum up that evening?

Maria Sharapova Very unfortunate, definitely. I mean, she played unbelievable tennis, the best I’ve seen her play - ever. You know, didn’t take my opportunities in the second set, and she came out. You know, she just played basically out of her mind in the second set, didn’t miss a ball. It was just so close in the third set, and I hit a shot, I turned away, and the next thing I know, the crowd just kind of went silent and I turned and she’s on the ground.

I tried — I looked at the screen to see the replay of what happened. Nothing happened. I thought she was cramping. It was just so strange. I hit the shot and I turned around, getting ready for the next ball. All of a sudden, she’s just on the ground. It was just very, very bizarre.

Q. Was it kind of an empty feeling for you not to be able to finish the match?

Maria Sharapova Because of the quality of the match. I mean, we were playing, both of us, were just fighting. We both wanted it. I mean, it’s just very unfortunate. I feel terrible for her.

Q. It was probably the best of the women’s matches in the tournament so far. Can you feel that sort of extraordinary level of play while you’re actually playing, or is there too much focus on the job that has to be done?

Maria Sharapova Well, definitely you feel like, you know — I felt like we were both giving everything we had. It was becoming a very physical match, whoever could just, you know, make an error or try to somehow finish the point off because the points were becoming very long, especially when I tried to serve for it and we had about five, six points back to back that were long, that were tough, and she came out and won all of them.

She gained confidence from that, and she ran, hit every ball hard, deep. You know, didn’t feel like anything was bothering her anymore. Definitely she wasn’t hitting as well at the beginning of the second set and the first, you know, I took advantage of a lot of the balls she hit. But then she started hitting freely and making a lot of shots.

Q. It seemed like the crowd was rooting for an upset. I never saw a match with you where the crowd was against you, it seemed like.

Maria Sharapova I think the crowd always wants a semifinal to be entertaining. I think at the point where 6-3, 5-1 or 2, I mean, the crowd definitely wants her to come back in. And with those — with that game that we played where it was four matchpoints and she was able to come back, and the quality of the tennis that we played, I mean, definitely you’re going to expect the crowd to start, you know, trying to bring her back.

Q. What was the situation with the bathroom break?

Maria Sharapova Well, I’ve — I had to go to the bathroom from the beginning of the set, and that was the longest game. I mean, that was like a five-, seven-minute game. I really had to go. In the middle of the sets I had to change, which is absolutely normal.

Q. Were you surprised by the boos from the crowd at that point?

Maria Sharapova No, it’s part of the sport. It happens everywhere - NBA. I mean, the crowd needs entertainment.

Q. When did you realize the injury was very bad?

Maria Sharapova Well, I did not know what happened until the ankle was being taped. I wasn’t sure — I wasn’t sure — I honestly thought it was cramps, that’s why I was kind of getting ready, trying to get myself going, because I know after three- or four-minute layoff, you can get down and very sloppy. I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen.

When the ankle was becoming taped, I didn’t know how serious it was, you know, until the first point, she just went for it and couldn’t really walk. That’s when I realized it was pretty bad.

But, I mean, I didn’t know for the first three minutes when she was down on the ground. I had no idea what happened.

Q. Any regrets about the matchpoints or do you just say “too good”?

Maria Sharapova Honestly, too good, really. She hit about three shots in a row. One of them, she kind of hit the frame it seemed like and the wind took it. Three of them just went an inch from the line. At that point, you know, you’re just trying to battle it out, trying to do everything you can, and, you know, she was just too good on those long points.

Q. What did you say to her after at the net?

Maria Sharapova I mean, what can you say at that point? I mean, you feel terrible. Your stomach is flipping inside-out, and, I mean, of course to her “I’m sorry” probably doesn’t mean a lot, unfortunately. But I really am.

I saw her in the locker room, the trainer’s room, I told her anything she needs, I mean, it’s very unfortunate. I feel awful for her. I understand it’s sport, but, you know, I’ve known her and I’ve seen her over the years, growing up together. It’s just difficult.

Q. So you’re in the final.

Maria Sharapova Yeah, I am.

Q. Weird under the circumstances.

Maria Sharapova Yeah, yeah. I mean, in a way it’s exciting. Obviously, unfortunately how I got there based on today. But, you know, I’ve played solid tennis. Should have finished it off, of course. But that’s not the way it went.

But I kind of have to forget about it and look forward to the final.

Q. Did you watch the other semifinal?

Maria Sharapova No, I watched a few points on TV, but not the whole match, no.

Q. What do you make of the way Svetlana Kuznetsova is playing at the moment?

Maria Sharapova Judging from the points I saw, she’s playing pretty well to beat the No. 1 player. She gained a lot of confidence from the Martina match.

You know, it will be my job to stop her.

Q. When she was receiving treatment, the TV commentator said you were not showing enough heart for your opponent. Would you agree with that?

Maria Sharapova Well, if I knew that — if I knew what the problem was, I probably would have showed more heart, for sure. But I had no idea what the problem was, so it was very difficult for me. If she was cramping, you know, that’s one thing. But I had, you know — I was trying to look on the monitor right after she was on the ground and they didn’t show anything. And then I, yeah…

Maria Sharapova won the quarter-finals match 6-3, 6- against Anastasia Myskina, in the NASDAQ 100 Tennis Open, Miami, Florida. The manuscript of post-match interview with Maria Sharapova.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Maria, please.

# Can you talk about Golovin and your next round match, what kind of challenges she presents?

Maria Sharapova: Yeah, well, she’s had a really good week here. She’s beaten some good players. Just have to keep improving with every match. It’s going to get tougher and tougher as you go along in the tournament. I think I played a lot better than I did in my three previous matches, which is a really good sign, and hopefully I keep improving in my fifth.

# 26 winners tonight. Did you feel more consistency in going for your shots?

Maria Sharapova: Yeah, well, I knew I had to be consistent against her. That’s her biggest strength, being consistent. She’s not going to overpower me on the court. She’s just going to try to make me hit another ball. I thought I did that really well. I took my opportunities, took my chances, and that was important.

# What’s the difference between her now and French Open champion?

Maria Sharapova: I don’t know. It’s been a while. I really don’t know.

# Were you pretty pleased with the way you played?

Maria Sharapova: Am I, yeah. I’m very pleased. I definitely stepped it up in this match, and I knew I had to. You know, kind of had some letdowns in my first three matches, and I knew that wouldn’t be able to get away with it today.

So it was very important that I did step it up.

# How many challenges did you have today?

Maria Sharapova: I’m not sure. One, I think one.

# You haven’t gotten one right?

Maria Sharapova: No, it’s pretty sad. Some are pretty close, though. Actually, the one tonight was really close. I’ll keep trying.

# Are you of a mind when you only challenge when you really are sure that you saw it as being the other way, or would you take a chance when it is a close call?

Maria Sharapova: I think it depends on what point it is in the match and how many challenges you have left. If it’s later in the set and I feel like, you know, I’m not too sure, and I still have two challenges left, I’m definitely going to ask. You know, why not? It’s not going to hurt me.

# Have you changed your mind at all about the way the officiating — your preconceptions about officiating and whether officials are wrong a lot or right a lot because of this whole HawkEye system?

Maria Sharapova: I never really thought they were wrong all the time. It’s just that crucial, crucial situations in a match, it can be a little frustrating, especially, you know, when it can cost you the match.

So you can tell that the umpires are not making as many overrules as they, you know, were before. You know, they just let the calls kind of go into our own hands. They want us to challenge it if we feel like the call is wrong. You know, we have to challenge it.

# Do you like that?

Maria Sharapova: I mean, in a way, sometimes I feel like if they really saw it clearly, then I’d rather them overrule it than having me challenge it. Then the girl can challenge it if she feels that was the wrong overrule.

I mean, I don’t know.