Шарапова может приехать на финал Fed Cup

[Jenya <3]

Мария Шарапова может приехать на финал Fed Cup Россия - Италия (15 - 16 сентября, Малая спортивная арена "Лужники", на который капитан российской сборной Шамиль Тарпищев вчера заявил Светлану Кузнецову, Анну Чакветадзе, Надежду Петрову и Елену Веснину, а его итальянский коллега Коррадо Бараззутти - Франческу Скьявоне, Мару Сантанжело, Роберту Винчи, Флавию Пеннетту и запасную Карин Кнапп. Правда, участия в матче вторая ракетка мира в любом случае не примет.

Потерпев в минувшую субботу неожиданное поражение в третьем круге US Open, Шарапова, которую уже давно беспокоит травма правого плеча, прошла медицинское обследование в Торонто. По его итогам, как и после Уимблдона, врачи категорически запретили ей выполнять подачу на протяжении ближайших трех недель. "Я очень опечалена тем, что снова вынуждена сделать перерыв в своих выступлениях. Хотя, возможно, это и к лучшему. То, что в финале Fed Cup сыграют теннисистки, принимавшие участие в предыдущих матчах нынешнего розыгрыша, абсолютно справедливо", - заметила в переписке с Тарпищевым россиянка, которая недавно в очередной раз опровергла слухи о своем желании выступать под американским флагом.

Как стало известно корреспонденту "СЭ" от исполнительного директора "Кубка Кремля" Александра Кацнельсона, оперативно контактирующего с менеджером второй ракетки мира Максом Айзенбадом, существует предварительная договоренность, согласно которой Шарапова вылетит из Америки в понедельник и на следующий день прибудет в Москву, чтобы принять участие в тренировках нашей команды и поддержать ее в финале.

Кроме того, видимо, из-за травмы изменится график выступлений Шараповой на личных турнирах и не исключено ее участие в "Кубке Кремля" (8 - 14 октября, с/к "Олимпийский", куда она в этом году предварительно не заявлялась. Если Мария решит сыграть в Москве, то организаторы будут готовы предоставить ей wild card, хотя теоретически это персональное приглашение она может получить и по линии Женской теннисной ассоциации.

источник

@темы: статьи

---

Машины турниры, проходящие в зале

[*love me for me*]

1) Штуттгарт, Германия - 1 октября
2) Цюрих, Швейцария - 15 октября
3) Линц, Автстрия - 22 октрября

---

[*love me for me*]

3й круг

@темы: US OPEN

---

интервью после поражения

[*love me for me*]

***

Q. Just talk about the last six games because it seemed like everything just fell part.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, although I won many games in a row after losing the first and being down 1-0, you know, you'd think I'd have the momentum in the third set with a break. But I just didn't really feel that way inside of me for some reason today. You know, just going to have those kind of days where you're always trying to come through and always trying to find a way even though you don't feel like things are exactly going your way. You know, that's just what happens.

Q. Can you talk about how much of this match was about you not being there 100 percent or was it more about her just playing great?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You got to give her a lot of credit for finishing the match and winning it. A lot of girls in her position on a big stage in a big stadium against a top player sometimes get a little nervous. She held on there, and all the credit to her for winning the match.

Q. Did you feel like you were not there this morning before the match or was it just sort of as it got underway?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: There's no excuses. It's not like today I stepped out on the wrong side of the bed or I did something differently. Like I said, I'm going to have these types of days where although I might be up a break in the third set, but it just doesn't go my way.

Q. With the serve was the wind playing a factor with the toss, and was she a little bit distracting when she's kind of dancing around?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't worry about what my opponent is doing. You know, I just worry about what I have to do. The conditions were obviously different than the other two matches that I've played. But I'm not going to say I lost the match because it was windy or because she was doing something and I was not.

Q. You played her one other time this year. Is there something about her game that you think is tough for you that makes the matches closer?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, it's hard to say because the last match was on clay and it was my first tournament back, you know, after being away from the game for a few months. It's difficult to say. Definitely a tough opponent. You know, she gets a lot of balls back and makes you work for the points. You know, but I mean, I have to look at today's match and see what I could have done differently in order win it. I know the mistakes I made. But today I just made those mistakes and you just hope that next time it doesn't happen.

Q. After the first set, did you adjust your game at all because you came out so strong in the second set?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah. I mean, I guess I stepped in the court a little bit more. But even though -- I just -- I don't know. I don't feel like I had that belief that I usually do. I don't know whether I put a lot of pressure on myself coming into this event, because I felt like I was starting to play a lot better. I felt like physically -- I felt really good. You know, I felt healthy. Yeah, I don't know. It was just -- it's tough to say.

Q. Did you feel upset that the audience applauding your opponents?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, she was an underdog coming into the match, and you have to understand that the underdog is the girl that's playing well against the top players are always going get applause. That's part of the game. That is normal in any sport.

Q. How is your shoulder?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's fine.

Q. Given how well you struck the ball in the first two rounds, didn't you think maybe at some point in the third set your feeling for the ball would come back?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You would think so, yeah. You wait for it, yeah. It just wasn't there. Like I said, you always try to find a way to, you know -- even though I won a lot of consecutive games, even though I was up a break, I just didn't feel -- I don't know if it was a combination of the circumstance or the wind or the opponent playing well. I don't know what it was. I just didn't quite feel like me out there.

Q. What's the emotion now, the defending champion and sort of an earlier exit than you wanted?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's always tough. No matter if you lose in the semis, whatever round it is. But especially being the defending champion, it's tough. Definitely not an easy day at the office for me. But, you know, it's -- I could sit here all day long and come up with excuses and say how bad I played. But at the end of the day my opponent won the match and I lost it. Better go on from here. Clearly it hasn't been my best year. Just hasn't been my year. But that's the way things go. I got take the good and I got take the bad and I got move on, just keep working hard, and someday the work that I did before this tournament, beginning of the year, whenever it was, it's going to pay off. I'm not worried about that.

Q. Have you ever had an opponent move that far up close to the service line on your second serves?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's really not about what the opponent does because the ball's in your hands. It's up to you to go out there and serve. I don't usually don't think about where my opponent's standing or not.

Q. We asked her about that, and she said Maria Sharapova didn't like it, did that as a tactic to try to throw you.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It will be interesting to see if she does it again next time I play her.

Q. Your dad left after 5-3 in the third set.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, he didn't. He was there.

Q. At that point, did you pretty much know at the change that nothing's working for me?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Throughout the match, like I said, it just didn't, you know, it didn't feel steady. You know, whether -- but, I mean, until the last point is played, you can't really think negatively. You know, no matter how bad things are going, you'll always try to be positive about it, even though it was quite difficult to be.

Q. What did you your father tell you after the match?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You know, I just talked to my team a little bit. It's tough to say because it's not like they're going to say, You should have hit this or you should have done that. You know, it's tough to correct something a few minutes after you just lost a match. Like I said, you just to have move on. I have a whole future ahead of me. I'm not going throw myself a pity party here.

Q. How long does it take to you recover?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: We'll see. Every loss is difficult. But I don't know. I'll tell you at the next tournament. It's tough to say.

Q. Despite all your off court success, you've always been very good at directing yourself, and you enjoy the winning so much on the court. Does a campaign like this year make you feel even more that hunger going forward?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: In the future, you mean?

Q. Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Sure. That's what I play for. I play to go in the Grand Slams and compete, and I've done it before and I've won two and I know I can do it again. There is no doubt about it. Just because today things didn't go my way and I lost, I'm not going to put my head down and think that I know that that's it. Could have easily gone my way today. She could have started playing worse or I could have played better, but today was just today. I've got to forget it. I'm looking forward to next year. This year is not done. There's no Grand Slam this year, but, you know, I still have a few tournaments to play. There's always years to come.

Q. Does she have what it takes to win a major do you think?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, you know, I think with experience, experience is definitely going to her with every year. She's going to grow as a player. She's going to be -- her game will become more mature. She'll improve a lot things in her game, you know, her serve. I definitely think her second serve is her weakness right now. I'm sure as she plays more tougher matches she'll learn and she'll be a better playing. For sure she has that chance. See if she takes it or not.

Q. What happened to your second serve today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, it's a combination of everything. Like I said, what happened to all my shots today? I could sit here and try to think, What happened? I could blame the wind and blame my opponent, but I'm not going to find reasons why one shot didn't work today and her shots did.

Q. When pro tennis was really getting started, it was so much about the tennis. It's really grown into such a massive industry and entertainment and the glamour side. When you were growing up, did you ever anticipate how much the emphasis would be on the business side and the exposure and all the great opportunities? Do the players just take this for granted now, that it's really a business?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, once you get on court, for a tennis player, it is all about the tennis. But I mean, you have to realize that people see you as entertainers. When you go to a concert and you see someone perform, you paid your money to see someone perform and see them do what they do best. That's why you spent the amount of money you did on that ticket. So you realize, I mean, when you're growing up I had no idea what would come with -- you don't know what's going to come with a tennis career. You don't know what's going to come with fame until you actually get there and those things come to you and you actually explore them. But you really don't know until you actually get there. There's a whole other world to it.

Q. Your comfortable that though right, and being a role model?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, it's tough being a role model, because when I was growing up I never really had a role model because I never thought that anyone was perfect. So it's tough to hear when kids do say that, you know, I want to be like Maria Sharapova. I say, No you don't. Because I'm not perfect. You know, I might be good at some things but I might not be good at other things. You want to strive for the best. You want to try to be the best. So, you know, so that's what's a little strange is that when kids do come up to me and say, I want to be just like you. I'm like, Okay.

Q. What are you not perfect at?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: There are a few things, but I'll keep them to myself.

Q. There were rumors that you're thinking about not playing for Russia anymore and playing for U.S.; is that true?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: That's not true.

Q. Do you feel shocked a little bit?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

Q. What's the feeling overall going on inside you right now?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's disappointment. There's no happiness, I'll tell you that. I mean, look, at the end of the day it really is a just tennis match. You know, some days you win and some days you lose. Some days you lose in the finals and some days you lose in the third round and some days you lose in the first round. You just never know how it's going to play out. Sometimes you work really hard for something and you get it when you want it, and sometimes you work really hard and you don't get it. You never know when God's going to bring down those gifts. So I'm waiting for those Christmas gifts.

@темы: ПК, US OPEN

---

[*love me for me*]

@темы: US OPEN

---

Маша покидает корты ЮС Опен

[*love me for me*]

Мария Шарапова не смогла повторить свое прошлогоднее достижение и выиграть Открытый чемпионат США по теннису.

В субботу вторая ракетка соревнований в рамках третьего круга встречалась с полькой Агнешкой Радванской, посеянной под 30-м номером.

В первом сете соперницы активно брали подачи друг друга, и лучше это удалось Радванской, которая отдала два своих гейма, а взяла три. Благодаря этому ей и удалось выиграть первый сет - 6:4.

Эта неудача разозлила россиянку, и в следующей партии она взялась за дело по-настоящему. Отдав Агнешке всего один гейм, она выиграла со счетом 6:1, потратив на это 38 минут.

В начале решающего сета Шарапова продолжила громить соперницу, сразу же взяв ее подачу. Но потом в ее игре наступил какой-то сбой, и она потеряла нити игры. Этим воспользовалась полька, и не только сравняла счет, но и вышла вперед - 5:2. Этот момент стал определяющим во всем матче - Шарапова не смогла найти достаточно сил для того, чтобы вытащить этот матч. В итоге 6:4, 1:6, 6:2 - сенсационная победа Радванской за 2 часа и 5 минут. Новое платье, в котором россиянка вышла на корт, оказалось нефартовым.

@темы: US OPEN

---

[*love me for me*]

Маша выиграла в номинации "Best Female athlete" церемонии TEEN CHOICE AWARDS!!

---

Интервью после 2го круга

[*love me for me*]

QUESTION
Did you ever get to the bottom of why they posted a 129 mile an hour serve?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
No. It was definitely a mistake, because, one, I've never hit a 129 in my life, let alone a second serve, and, two, it definitely didn't feel like a 129. So definitely wishful thinking.

QUESTION
How did you feel about overall?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I felt pretty well. Apart from one game where in six first serves I only made one of them. Apart from that I thought I did a pretty good job of holding my ground and doing the right things and figuring out her game and what I needed to do pretty quickly.
So that was a good thing.

QUESTION
Is it tough to get a handle on things when you're beating players by such a big margin?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
No. I'm just trying to play solid from the first point until the end. I don't want to give my opponents any chances, and I got to take mine. Just got to do my job and get off the court.

QUESTION
You looked particularly focused tonight. Was that just my take on it or was it special tonight?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Well, it's always special playing night matches. I always feel like I have to be, I don't know, extra focused and play better than I usually do. The night matches are always a little bit of a bigger motivation factor, especially here.
You know, you're treated as entertainers and you go on court and you feel like you have to perform well, so you just want to do a good job of that. I don't think it was any better or worse than the other nights.

QUESTION
Casey was overwhelmed. She said, "If she plays anywhere near like this, she's winning it." That's her take on it.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
That's nice.

QUESTION
Do you feel like you're playing your best tennis of the tournament or do you feel like you still have more to gain?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Well, with every match it's going to get tougher, and I'm sure with the upcoming matches I'm going to have challenges which I'm going to have to go through.
This summer I definitely feel like I'm playing better tennis, and one of biggest factors is I feel healthy and I'm not thinking about preventing something or making something worse or not. I feel like I'm playing freely and I know what I'm capable of doing on the court.
When you don't feel 100%, it's pretty tough to do that because you feel limited to your game. It's kind of refreshing to go out there and just be thinking of what you need to do to win the match.

QUESTION
Is there a different feeling defending a title at a Grand Slam like this?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah, there definitely is. Because from my point of view, I just know how great it felt to win here. You just want to have that same feeling again and repeat it. In the sport of tennis there's only one champion, and it's a pretty good feeling coming off a tournament and being that champion.
So you work, the preparation that you put in, from the off season to the weeks before this Grand Slam, you hope that it all comes together for you.

QUESTION
What can you say about the girl you are playing next round?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
It's Radwanska, right?

QUESTION
Yes.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Last time I played her was in Turkey and we had a pretty tough match. That was on clay and that was my first tournament back. So, you know, I mean, she's a young girls and I don't think she's going to have much to lose when she goes out on court to play me again.
I know her game a little bit. We practiced a couple times. I played her once. But this is a different match, a different tournament, and
I can't worry about the past. Just got figure it out when I go there.

QUESTION
Any particular approach you're going to take considering her playing style?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Not any that I'm going to talk about.

QUESTION
Do you think you need a tougher game to hit your peak? You've had two very comfortable wins so far.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Like I said, I'm sure with every match it's only going to get tougher. My job out here is to be professional about what I do, respect each opponent, and go into each match thinking that it's going to be the toughest match of my life.
If it's the easiest match in my life I'll take it from there. But I can't go into a match thinking it's going to be easy or that I'm playing well, because every day is a new day and every tennis match can be different.

QUESTION
You're one of ten women from Russia into the third round. I realize you lived in the U.S. for a long time, but do you feel like a part of that wave?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah. It's incredible to see the growth of Russian tennis throughout the years. In '04 it was kind of I won Wimbledon and then Myskina won the French Open before me.
From that point on, the clubs were filling, you know, the money was put into young prodigies. And now tennis it used to be when I was growing up it was gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics. I always wanted to be a rhythmic gymnast. I grew a little too fast for that. And hockey, and now it's basically all tennis.

QUESTION
Which kind of hockey, ice hockey?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Uh huh, yeah. Especially in the northern part.

@темы: ПК, US OPEN

---

Маша в 3м круге!!

[*love me for me*]

Сегодня ночью по-московском времени Мария легко обыграла Casey Dellacqua6:1, 6:0 и вышла в третий раунд Открытого Чемпионата США. Где предстоит встретиться с 18-летней теннисисткой из Польши – Агнешкой Радванска, 32-й ракеткой мира. Матч состоится в субботу.

@темы: US OPEN

---

Слушаем

[Jenya <3]

Мария Шарапова: главное - выходить на корт и выигрывать

---

Шарапова не сыграет на Кубке Кремля

[*love me for me*]

Российская теннисистка Мария Шарапова отказалась принять участие в теннисном турнире на Кубок Кремля, который пройдёт в спорткомплексе "Олимпийский" с 6 по 14 октября.

"Мария и её тренерский штаб приняли решение не выступать на турнире в этом году, - сообщил Reuters исполнительный директор турнира Александр Кацнельсон. - Решение было принято из-за двух последних неудачных выступлений Марии на турнире".

В прошлом году Шарапова травмировала ногу, а в 2005 проиграла Динаре Сафиной в 1/4 финала.

Также сообщается, что в Кубке Кремля дебютирует первая ракетка мира Жюстин Энен.

Газета.ru

---

1й круг

[*love me for me*]

фотографии 1го круга

@темы: US OPEN

---

интервью после 1го круга=))

[*love me for me*]

***

Q. Seemed to serve very well. Has that been feeling a lot better?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, apart from being a little nervous in the end, I thought I did a good job of doing the right things, not just on the serve but in my game as well.
Coming in after being the defending champion, stepping out on to the court, it's not exactly the easiest situation. I thought I handled it pretty well.

Q. You play Casey Dellacqua next. I don't know if you know anything about her.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah.

Q. She had a good win today.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah.

Q. How do you handle somebody like that, not a big name but is obviously playing better?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's kind of weird playing opponents for a second time than playing someone that you haven't played against. Usually, you play opponents week in and week out. Sometime in your career you think you've already played them but I never played the girl I played today and never played her before.
I think it's just a matter of going out and trying to figure her game out as fast as you can. Those opponents can be tricky because you don't know their game. I know she's a lefty and I've seen her play a little bit on some of the matches on TV. I haven't seen too much to know really what she does well and not. So I think it's just going to be up to me to figure it out as soon as I can.

Q. Do you have a lot of trouble with left-handers? Do they bother you? I mean there's not a lot of left-handers.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it's very tricky. When I was younger especially I had a lot trouble, like an opponent today that comes in and chips and volleys, when I was younger I had a lot of trouble with those. Those are tougher opponents for me than big hitters or big servers because when I was younger I tried to go for the bigger shot so much faster than I do now and as I've grown as a player, I'm more patient, more consistent and I, you know, I try to find the opening when it's there?

Q. Have you changed you're serving action to kind of compensate for the shoulder a little bit?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I did.

Q. Talk about that a little bit.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was just, you know, it's a group decision because obviously I was struggling with the shoulder for quite a while. After Wimbledon, you know, all of us, my team got together and we just thought of all the things that could help my shoulder not just for the next tournament or not just for the next Grand Slam but for my future, what was going to be important for it.
You know, I adjusted my weight of my racquet a little bit. I changed the serve and made it a little shorter. It's not that short, just shorter than it used to be because my old swing used to be pretty dramatically long.

Q. How do you think it's affected action of your serve itself?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's interesting because you know, changes take quite a long time to figure out whether it's, I don't know, a new string or a new racquet or a new motion. I've never really had to change too much over the course of the last couple of years, you know, until I've had to change the swing on my serve. So you know, but that's just so I can play for so many years and not be injured.
And you know, as an athlete you have to be pretty realistic about those things because you want to be healthy as much as possible. So you understand those circumstances even though you -- because you personally don't like changes. I don't want to -- I'm pretty stubborn. I like to keep things the same. Once your injured and you realize you can't play then you try it find things that will make that better.

Q. Are you losing power as a result?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think so. I mean, I serve pretty consistently today. I hit one 115 or 116 actually. But I feel like my speed is getting here. In the middle of year I was just trying to get a higher percentage of first serves in and now I'm feeling like I'm getting a lot more velocity in it.

Q. It's not even that you serve and volley. You did that a couple times tonight. Coming into the tournaments that what, you were saying you could do that once in a while as a change-up?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, my serve becomes better when I jump forward and I move in. It just gives me more confidence on the serve. It's a good way to practice it when you're up 30-Love or 40-Love. I mean, why not? I mean, like I said, I'm going to be playing for a few years to come.
If I can add these things to my game now it'll only make me a better player in the coming years.

Q. What would you give yourself grade-wise tonight?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think I did everything solid. She's a pretty quick opponent, like she'd rush from side to side. Like I said, a couple years ago those types of opponents would have been difficult on me. But I feel like I'm a much more patient player now and I feel like I can handle that and not have that many problems with it.

Q. Roberta said tonight that she's suffered from a toothache this week.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: From what?

Q. Had a toothache. Hadn't practiced in three days. She tell that you that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Tell me? I don't think she'd want to tell me before the match. If I had a toothache I don't think I'll tell my opponent.

Q. She said I probably would have lost anyway, but maybe not 6-0, 6-1.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, you're the first one to tell me.

Q. When did the freak left shin injury go away?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Two days. Told you. The next day was pretty bad. It was very disappointing because I had a few friends coming into town to watch me play if I was in the final, and all of them decided to go bowling, which was perfect with a bad shin.

Q. So you just sat there and watched them bowl?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah, waddled my way out there.

Q. Do you ever feel bad for an opponent when you're beating them that quickly and easily?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No.

Q. On the plays down the stretch though you had an opportunity to challenge a call that was borderline. I mean, if it were closer would you have challenged, or did the score dictate that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, sometimes in the court you can see the marks of the ball. That helps a lot, especially here because the surface. It's blue, and when the ball hits it and -- not always, but you can see the marks. Because there are so many marks you usually don't know which one it is.
Sometimes if it's a fresh mark you know that that's where the ball landed and you can see if it was on the line or not. If it's really close then challenge, and if not then you don't.

Q. You didn't determine not to challenge because the score was so lopsided?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, because I saw the ball was in. It showed on the screen it was almost inside the line, so...

Q. When you get all dressed up for the nighttime at the US Open, does it do anything to you psychologically almost like when you're going out for a big evening out and you dress up and it pumps you up for the night? When you come out, is that part of the whole...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I was trying to get through my warmup as fast as I could so I could put the dress on actually. Not a joke. Was pretty excited about putting it on.
So I told my coach, I was like, Last return and I'm out of here. I'm going in the locker room.

Q. So it just gets you up when you're putting on something special as opposed to just an average kind of dress?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, yeah. When you feel good about what you're wearing and you feel good about putting it on, yeah, you know what it's like. Put on a nice outfit and some makeup and you're the bomb.

Q. So how does it compare to the Audrey Hepburn outfit from last year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Last year was Breakfast at Tiffany's and this year, I don't know, it's basically...

Q. Cocktails at Tiffany's?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's like the Big Apple Tiffany earrings.

Q. If you can do it in New York you can do it anywhere?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I figured that it was going to be pretty tough to top off, you know, a black dress. I mean, you can only do so much with a black dress. I think because last year's was pretty successful and, you know, it did really well and because I won in it, we thought, let's just do something different.
I've never worn red before. There's no better place to do it than a night match in New York.

Q. Venus was saying the other day sometimes she goes match by match in a tournament and other times, if she's won a tournament, sometimes she says, This is mine and there's no way I'm going to lose it. Do you feel like you have a little bit of a part of Open now?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I feel like I'm part of its history, for sure. No matter how I do here this year, in the future, no matter where my career goes, my name will always be engraved on the trophy and always on the board.
So that's kind of -- it definitely gives you that satisfaction that no matter how you do in the future, you're always going to have that little part of history of the US Open.
It really is an incredible -- I don't know, an incredible feeling, you know, and walking down the court when I got here, when you're walking and you haven't won the tournament you see all the past champions and the photos and the year that this won it, the first thing I did when I got here was I was going through the corridors trying to find my pictures.
I was like, Where is that thing? It's going to be there all the years unless they move it. I'm always going to be there. It's always nice to know that you're always going to somehow be there no matter how you do.

Q. You spoke about how you've improved in the patience department. Do you think if you put the Maria Sharapova of today up against the young Maria Sharapova who won her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, what would the score of a match be?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, goodness. It's so tough to say, because when I was playing, say, the finals of Wimbledon I wasn't expecting myself to be in the finals of Wimbledon. I think what was the most impressive thing about that was that I went into the final and I didn't even know nerves existed. I played as if that was just another match.
That was the greatest thing looking back at it. Getting to the finals here last year I really felt like was ready to be in a final of a Grand Slam and I felt like I was ready to win another slam physically and mentally.
Whereas, at Wimbledon I was just going match by match and I never seemed to care what people were saying, how things were playing out. I was just winning matches. I was beating top players and doing it, you know, without nerves. That was -- but it's just hard to say.

Q. It's pretty amazing. But there's some young players, like Sampras when he was very young. But other players who are very young and get the moment are sort of overwhelmed. Is there any distinction?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I was overwhelmed after I had won the title, definitely. I mean, I've said it many times. It took me a very long while to realize that just because you won a major doesn't mean that you're all of a sudden going to be great. Doesn't mean you're going win every single match.
It definitely took a while for me to realize that. I just thought I had everything in my game, and all of a sudden I'm just going to keep winning everything. That's not how things work, even today. No matter how good a player is, that's why we go out and play tennis matches. Everyone has a chance. One of the greatest things about tennis is there's a very thin line between winning and losing.
I mean, it is definitely physical and power has definitely stepped it up over the years and everything seems to be faster and quicker, but a lot is mentally and I feel like I have a huge edge on that.

Q. What about this year? Talk about your approach at Wimbledon and then last year. This year, how is it different?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I know how sweet it was to win last year. You know, I know what it took and how good it felt when I had won it. And coming into this year, no matter how good or bad this year has been, you know, I want to have that same feeling again.
I know what I'm capable of doing when I'm healthy. I know how I can play and how tough I am. When I go on the court, I mean, I know that I can do it and I know that I can win it again.

Q. Could you talk about your black jacket? You wore it today when you walk on court.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's very couture. It's actually the material comes -- okay, if I say I think it's Italian or either from Paris or Milan and they're going to kill me if I got this wrong. But I think it's from Milan. I only have two because they didn't have enough material. But that's really useless information in here.
But, yeah, it was -- the idea of couture from the French couture shows.

@темы: ПК, US OPEN

---

1й круг))

[*love me for me*]

Всего 1 гейм отдала Мария Шарапова в стартовом матче на ЮС Опен-2007 против Роберты Винчи, продолжавшемся 50 минут. 30 очков из 53 Маша выиграла своими активными действиями, сделав 3 двойных ошибки и 10 невынужденных. Во втором круге Мария встретится с теннисисткой из Австралии – Casey Dellacqua. В четверг по нью-йорскому времени.

@темы: US OPEN

---

US OPEN series 2007

[*love me for me*]

---

Дневник: 24.08.07 и 15.08.07

[shiver=))]

24.08.07

Снова в Нью-Йорке!! Так здорово опять быть здесь, хотя когда мы приземлились, шёл дождь… похоже, в этом году каждый Большой Шлем – это сплошные дожди. Город, как обычно, по большей части занят своими делами. Движение напоминает лозунг Бургер Кинга "Ешь по-своему"... каждый водитель ездит по своим собственным правилам. Вчера довелось увидеть знак «Не сигналить. Штраф 300$»… с каких это пор?

Каждый вечер я ужинала в разных ресторанах и каждый раз еда была превосходна! Мое новое любимое место? Ресторан «Кантри». Это нормально – проснуться и сразу думать о том, что тебе хочется съесть на ужин? Вчера было акция Лэнд Ровера… было очень приятно появиться на нём в моём новом платье от Питера Сома, но когда я встретилась со Стивом Нэшем, я чуть не сошла с ума. Я большая его поклонница!

На прошлой неделе я ходила в Диснейлэнд… это лучшее место на Земле… хотя я была сильно разочарована тем, что не встретила Гуфи. Всегда большое удовольствие наблюдать за Майклом и Эриком в парке развлечений… эти двое в таких местах как "тупой и ещё тупее". Камилла заставила нас пойти в детский городок… Питер Пэн, Белоснежка и все эти заезды на аттракционах, «потому что просто нельзя прийти в ДиснейЛэнд и не покататься на настоящих аттракционах».

Посмотрела фильм «Чак и Лари»… один из тех фильмов, о которых даже трудно вспомнить о чём они, но когда смотришь – это очень смешно и легко смотрится.

Очередная "цитата надели" принадлежит Майклу. Во время работы над serve and volley он сказал мне: «Ты не должна скакать к сетке, как Бэмби». Великолепно! Ха-ха.

До скорого!!

Перевод с англ. RoyalSpirit, Kelly © www.sharapova.ru

15.08.07

Всем привет! Знаю, что я сильно припозднилась с новой записью, но так случается, когда бываешь недалеко от дома… последнее, чем хочется заниматься – это сидеть и печатать. Но начнем потихоньку… пока я тут поедаю свежую кукурузу с рынка...

Как вы знаете, мой организм не справился с нагрузкой и решил покончить с теннисом на несколько дней. Выходя из машины на турнире, я почувствовала колющую боль в мышце голени… и с каждым шагом мне становилось все хуже и хуже… что привело меня в полнейший шок! Сейчас я могу с юмором рассказывать об этом, потому что сегодня уже провела хорошую тренировку без всякой боли, в то время как всего два дня назад я даже не могла просто поднять ногу вверх. Просто чудо!!! Конечно, на следующий же вечер мои друзья, которые прилетели на турнир посмотреть на меня, решили сходить в боулинг после ужина… Меня могли бы нанять на раздачу ботинок для боулинга, потому что с моей ногой мне там было совершенно нечего делать. Кстати, почему это всегда так смешно, когда кто-нибудь запускает мяч в боковые "кюветы"?

Не считая того, что я не могла особенно много ходить, я провела пару очень хороших деньков с друзьями. Немного побыла в Venice (лучшее место для воскресного позднего завтрака) и посмотрела этот новый Ягуар, по которому я просто схожу с ума… а также проверила место в моем гараже для него, и думаю, что его будет как раз достаточно!

Участвовала вчера в съемках новой Найковской рекламы 'athlete', которая выходит совсем скоро… это всегда хороший предлог для Эрин, чтобы прилететь на денек… сложная у тебя работа, подруга! Хаха.

В плане моды это мое любимое время года. Так приятно надеть летнее платьице или шорты и не беспокоиться о свитере. На этой неделе я получаю вещи по предварительному заказу из осенней коллекции Peter Som и Thakoon… Не знаю, многие ли из вас следят за модой, но этих двух дизайнеров ждет большое будущее.

На этой неделе иду в Диснейленд… не могу передать, как это здорово!! Мы не виделись с Гуфи целый год! Как сказала одна из моих подруг: «Состоится встреча двух личностей!»

Прочитав последнее время много всего об Африке, я, наконец, дошла до новой книги о Гарри Поттере… Обычно я одна из первых прочитываю эти книги, но, учитывая, что эта последняя, думаю, что в этот раз не буду так торопиться.

Не знаю, заметили ли вы, но я укоротила свои волосы на 10 см, хотя, я почти уверена, что за неделю уже четверть этой длины успела отрасти назад. Должна быть страховка с возвратом денег на случай, если волосы отрастают слишком быстро!

Ок, еще кое-что по ходу дела... вы читали эту историю с первой полосы USA Today о 5-ти летней будущей звезде тенниса? В статье сказано, что у мальчика уже есть спортивный психолог и диетолог. Интересно, если он захочет съесть на ужин макароны с сыром, диетолог, что, скажет ему, что в них слишком много холестерина? Меня просто тошнит от таких историй!

Не могу поверить, что уже через неделю я снова еду в Нью-Йорк!! Так рада! Напишу вам оттуда! Чао! Мария.

Перевод с англ. Kelly, RoyalSpirit © www.sharapova.ru

@темы: дневник

---

Land Rover Auction August 2007

[shiver=))]

***

@темы: наряды, фото с премьер

---

US OPEN 2007

[shiver=))]

@темы: наряды, US OPEN

---

[shiver=))]

интервью перед стартом

QUESTION
Can you update us on the shoulder, how much more efficient you'll become if you have it with your new service motion?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah, I mean, I got to realize it takes time. Changes, it takes time. But most importantly, I'm feeling really good. I'm happy to be back. I had a good week of training after L.A., practiced for five days, came out here, have had some really good practice sessions.
All in all, it's been good.
QUESTION
Do you feel like you have your velocity back with the serve?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah. I feel like I'm serving probably the biggest that I've served this year. Middle of the year, around the time of the French Open, just trying to get a higher percentage of first serves in. Definitely in San Diego and L.A. I felt like I was hitting a lot bigger and more velocity.
QUESTION
You've been very busy this week with fashion shoots, parties. Has it affected your preparation for the tournament?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I did two events. One was for one hour and the other for an hour and a half, all in the evening after all my training, so no.
QUESTION
There was a lot of talk that the top half of the draw was heavy with Justine, Serena, Ivanovic, maybe your half of the draw was not as difficult. What do you think about that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
You know, I honestly have to take it a match at a time. I really can't get worried about how the draw played out. You have Serena, who I think is seeded 8, and Venus who is seeded 12. They could have easily been on my side, as well.
That's just the way things go. I've had some pretty tough draws this year as well, particularly in Miami where I could have played Venus second round and Serena third round. If I would have won, then another tough opponent.
That's just the way draws play out sometimes. If some of the girls are seeded higher, it would have played out a little differently.
QUESTION
Did you breathe a sigh of relief or were you pleased when you saw the draw, all those other players on the other half?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Like I said, I have to take it one match at a time. I can't worry about who's on my side and who's not. If I'm scared of playing someone, I should just pack my bags and leave.
QUESTION
After kind of a difficult season with injuries, nice to get back to this place?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Incredible, definitely. It's a different feeling because when you come into a tournament that you've never won before, you always wonder what it's going to be like when you win it, how cool it will be to win it, how amazing, what an honor it will be.
Coming in and seeing my name on the board when I walk into the locker room, knowing I already did it, knowing how sweet it was to win, you want to repeat it 'cause you want to have that feeling again.
QUESTION
Was there a moment when the memory came back to you walking in?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Well, there are a lot of memories. Even when I go back to Wimbledon, all the corners you turn, all the places you go to, there's always memories left behind.
QUESTION
Do you play any other sports besides tennis?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I attempt to, but it doesn't work out too well for me so I try not to. I try not to embarrass myself.
QUESTION
When you see the cameras along the sideline, they're pointed at you, none at your opponent...
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I don't look at the cameras. I look at the ball.
QUESTION
You never notice that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I don't look at the photographers. If I kept looking at the photographers. I'm talking about when I'm playing. Now I can laugh and do all this stuff. When you're playing, I don't worry about who's watching, who's taking a picture of me, who's not, what my opponent's doing, what everyone else is doing.
QUESTION
When you came in here last year you looked like you might be primed to win, big win over Kim, played well during the summer. This time, does anyone to you look like that kind of player on the women's side?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
That I played during the summer?
QUESTION
Does anyone look like they're coming in as a clear favorite, like you did last year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Well, it's funny because I don't think I was considered a clear favorite coming into the tournament last year. So until you win it, then, it's like, Oh, yeah, she was always the favorite to win. That's how things work.
QUESTION
You looked like a serious contender.
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Right. Well, clearly Justine, she's always very consistent. You always expect to see her in the last rounds of each tournament. She's always very tough and a great competitor. That's clearly why she's been No. 1 for a while now.
The Williams sisters have been playing great tennis this year. Jelena and Ana have also been coming up. There's a wide range of girls that can play great tennis. It's just a matter of who does it best.
QUESTION
There was a picture in the paper of you in your red dress. Did you pick that out?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Yeah, I just said, That's it (laughter).
I work with Nike designers all the time. I meet with them many times. I have a lot of fittings. I incorporate a lot of ideas into what I wear. After last year's dress, which came out to be pretty successful, when we sat down we knew this was going to be pretty hard to top. We got out of black, out of Breakfast at Tiffany's. We wanted to totally do a different things.
We based it on the city. The city is my favorite city in the world. It's red. I've never worn a red dress before. It's a really big statement, as well, because it's the Big Apple, apple's are red. It is kind of a coincidence. It wasn't part of the whole thing (laughter).
But, yeah, it was a really fun process because it was a challenge for us. I'm working with a new set of designers. This is the first dress that's seamless. I don't know if you're into it, but it's seamless, all bonded material, yeah. Exciting stuff, huh? Just love hearing about it (smiling)?
QUESTION
The US Open Series, a chance to win so much more extra money here, is that something that you're looking forward to trying to achieve?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I don't worry about the money. I even forgot I was No. 2, ended the US Open Series No. 2 last year. When I was getting my check in the end, there was a bonus, I was like, Wow. That's pretty good, right?
Yeah, you don't worry about that. You just try to win as many matches.
QUESTION
Nikolay Davydenko was involved in a match investigated by the ATP. No one has talked to the women whether they've been approached or had conversations with other players on the tour about strange conversations, hinting around at gambling. Have you had any conversations like that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I have not. But it doesn't seem like the WTA Tour has any issues with it.
QUESTION
Arthur Ashe Kids Day, what do you think he meant to the sport of tennis?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
An inspiration to so many kids. It's incredible being part of the history and playing on that stadium because the fans supporting him, really as a player, as a person, what he did for kids, people all around the world. It's an honor being here.
QUESTION
Why is New York your favorite city?
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
There's just so many things to do, and it's a vibe. With every year I've gotten to appreciate it more and more. It has like a buzz. When you're walking down the street, usually I don't like to walk, I'd much rather drive, but here I can walk all day. It would actually be cool to put on a suit, walk around the city and go to work or jump in a Yellow cab. There's so many interesting things about it. Every little town you go to, it seems like you have a hip part of town, you have an older part of town, you have the new town coming up. And the food, I mean, I've had a meal at a different restaurant every single night, and I haven't had a bad meal, and I'm a big food fan. Every year I come back to like 10 new restaurants to go to. So that's always fun. And the shows.
Yeah, it doesn't seem like people could actually live here. I don't picture New York having a grocery store or something. It just seems like this huge amusement park from ride to ride.
QUESTION
James Blake in his book had an interesting section.
MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I bought the book but have not read it yet. I will, though.

QUESTION
The he spoke about being injured, hang out with his friends. Do you ever step back and think what you might be doing if you weren't in this sport of tennis?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Well, it's tough to say because I probably wouldn't be living in the United States. I'd probably be going to college, as my friend is, who is the same age as me in Russia, going to college on a daily basis, studying. I would have definitely been doing something with art, creative type, either interior design or fashion design. I've always wanted to do that.
But, you know, it's hard to say because then I moved to the States and it's a little bit of a different story.

QUESTION
What do you think when you step back and think of your incredible career?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Oh, my, that I'm way beyond blessed. I get to wake up every single morning. First of all, I get to have an incredible team around me with my parents that have basically all the things that I have today, they have helped with. I don't know, it's crazy. It's hard to explain. I feel like there's so many other young kids that also have supportive parents that also try to make it, but not all of them do. So that's why it's such a blessing that I did get the opportunity to achieve great things, yet I'm still young, 20 years old, and I feel like I can do so much more, not just in tennis but in other things, because my parents always taught me to never be afraid of anything, to try the things that you love, to expand yourself. I don't want to be one dimensional. I love trying new things, whether it's writing, TV or anything. I'm really not afraid to fail at it.
I never believed in pressure. People always expected me to do great things when I was younger. People thought I was part of this big elite group. I was going to achieve those things. But I never cared what they said because at that point I had never achieved any of those great things they thought I would until I won Wimbledon. Then I was like, Okay, now maybe I get to appreciate what they said, because then it didn't make any sense to me.

QUESTION
You mentioned your parents. Everybody knows your dad. Your mom people don't know as much. Talk about your mom.

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
She doesn't like to be in the scene. She does everything behind the scenes. She's like my cultural tutor. She studied with me every single day when I was growing up, Russian, English. I don't know, yeah, it's very interesting 'cause when I go home, basically my dad always goes skiing or hiking or something. I get to see my mom. We get to cook, do all these things. She doesn't like the player lounges. She doesn't care to go on the court and sit there all day. I don't blame her. I wouldn't either.

QUESTION
Does she get nervous watching you play?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
She doesn't watch. She just finds out the results. Either way she loves me. To her it doesn't matter. She'll TiVo it and watch it with a muted sound.

QUESTION
Was she a player?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Player? God, no.

QUESTION
As the defending champion, do you feel more pressure or less pressure on your shoulders and why?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
I'm sure going on the court I'm going to be a bit nervous. Nerves are part of an athlete. It's how you deal with nerves. I love it when there's something on the line. That's when I play my best tennis. I don't mind going out there and being a little nervous because it says I'm human.

@темы: ПК, US OPEN

---

Acura Classiс

[чайка]

Мария выиграла финал в Сан-Диего, в котором встречалась с Патти Шнидер, со счетом 6:2 3:6 6:0 и завоевала 16-й титул WTA в своей карьере!

@темы: титул