**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
понедельник, 17 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
М. Шарапова – Е. Даниилиду 7:5, 6:3.
4й круг:
Мария Шарапова – Алёна Бондаренко
вторник, 18 марта
4й круг:
Мария Шарапова – Алёна Бондаренко
вторник, 18 марта
воскресенье, 16 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
Q. Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why?
Q. That's a crazy question. I'm not going to ask you a straight question.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Crazy question. I wasn't nervous at all, no. Just no.
Q. Not the tiniest little bit?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Not really, no. You mean because of the wind, or...
Q. No, just because it's your first match here. Tennis match, crowd's there.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I didn't really feel nervous. I've been playing good enough tennis to not be nervous before my first round. Obviously you never know what kind of tennis you're going to produce in these kind of conditions.
But, you know, I think against an opponent that didn't give me much rhythm, I think I handled it pretty well.
Q. You'll be happy to know it's pretty calm out there now.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm sure. It's been great the last week, and then I woke up this morning and it's windy all of a sudden.
Shocking.
Q. Thinking about your winning streak at all, this nice little streak you have starting the year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You know, when I begin a tournament it's like I'm starting from scratch. At the end of the day, numbers are all very relative. You know, I just have to focus on my next match and next round. You know, I don't worry about records too much, no.
Q. There was one point in the match I don't know if you noticed but in the second set you hit a ball and you thought it might have been good and you challenged it. I don't know if you could see through the umpire's chair, but both your father and Michael went like this, it was out, and you still challenged it. Did you see them?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I looked their way, and I did see yeah I don't know if that's like challenge or if it's out. But the umpire, you know, sometimes I usually like to ask the umpire, you know, because if they say it was really close, then, you know, you usually challenge it. But she didn't really give me a very confident answer that it was way long, so that's why I challenged it. It was one of those throw away challenges that, you know, 50 percent of us use.
Q. Have you thought about the Olympics, about playing in them?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, absolutely.
Q. Do you plan on playing? Because Andy pulled out of it because he thought it was too close to the US Open for him. What are your thoughts about it? And can you excel at both the Open and the Olympics since it's so close together?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: The Olympics comes around only once every four years, and the US Open is there every single year. I don't know if he's played the Olympics before. But, you know, obviously I never have, and it's been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl.
So it's been one of my priorities for a very long time. You know, I'm privileged to be part of so many athletes. You know, I really don't know what to expect, because usually you play the same events every single year. You go from tournament to tournament.
I think this will be just completely new and different, and usually you have sort of an idea of what things are going to be like, but I'm really clueless. I'm just one of the things I'm really looking forward to is the opening ceremony and walking with all the athletes and, you know, athletes from my country, yeah, in front of thousands of people.
Q. Who there would you like to meet you haven't had the chance to meet before?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'd love well, I don't know about meeting, but I'd actually love to watch gymnastics or rhythmic gymnastics, because when I was younger I wanted to be a rhythmic gymnast. I don't know if the weeks are the same. What else do I want to watch?
Q. You're intrigued by the ribbon, or which part of rhythmic gymnastics.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Just the art. In Russia, rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating is an art form, and I was always intrigued by that. I actually did gymnastics for a couple of years when I was younger, about nine or ten. It was part of my fitness regime.
But I don't know. I just love, you know, I love ribbons. I used to be like in my garage I used to put rollerblades on and that used to be like my figure skates. I used to make a fake ribbon and I'd be rolling around my garage. I'd have my parents pull the car out and have one of those old radios that I'd turn on, one of those really geeky stations, and I'd just be roller blading and waiving the ribbon. I thought I was in the Olympics.
Q. After winning the Australian and you're a contender for a golden slam with the Olympics, have you ever even let yourself think about that yet?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm far away from that. You know, I've only won one Grand Slam this year and I've got many more tournaments three more Grand Slams and the Olympics to go.
You know, as I said, I want to use these tournaments as good preparation for the Grand Slams, which are obviously the biggest tournaments of the year, and the Olympics including.
But you never know what will happen. It will be great if I can, but realistically it's pretty difficult.
Q. Are you a fan of Dancing With the Stars?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I actually don't watch it. I don't watch TV very often. Just, I usually the only thing I watch usually is the NBA or Sports Center because I hang out with the guys all the time, my team. They're always in sports. So I watch the NBA and hockey a lot.
Q. Do you have any thoughts about them playing an NBA game at this stadium?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I heard about that the other day. I think that's awesome, two great teams. That's in October, I think?
Q. Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Where are we in October? Maybe I can join.
Q. Someone's been getting a lot of mileage about doing imitations of you. Do you think you're going to do imitations of him some day?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Of Novak?
Q. Yeah.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely not. I'd hurt my back doing his imitation, honestly.
Q. That many times?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yes. I'm a little fragile when it comes to that. 
суббота, 15 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
Мария Шарапова уверенно стартовала на крупном турнире в Индиан-Уэллсе Pacific Life Open, обыграв Стефани Коэн-Алоро 6:1, 6:0.
В следующем круге Мария встретится с Елени Даниилиду.
читать дальше
В следующем круге Мария встретится с Елени Даниилиду.
читать дальше
четверг, 13 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
среда, 12 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
вторник, 11 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
The draw for the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells has been released and Maria is the #4 seed and has a bye in the 1st round and will play either Lilia Osterloh of the United States or a qualifier. Maria has played Osterloh twice before and won both matches without dropping a set.
The 1st seed Maria can meet is #25 seed Eleni Daniilidou of Greece in the 3rd round. Maria can meet #15 seed Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine in the 4th round. Last year's champion Daniela Hantuchova is Maria's projected opponent in the quarters and Maria is in #2 seed Svetlana Kusnetsova's half. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic round off the draw in the top half.
пятница, 07 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
In March 5th, Maria was featured on Jeopardy. In the final round one of the questions was "In August 2005 this 'Siberian Siren' became the first Russian ranked No. 1 in women's tennis." And of course we all know the answer but this is a great example how Maria is known in mainstream society by the general public.
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
2008 may only be over 2 months old but already Maria has visited 4 different continents and 8 different countries in her travels, here is her schedule with the miles accumlated:
Los Angeles to Singapore - 8760 miles
Singapore to Hong Kong - 1600 miles
Hong Kong to Melbourne - 4600 miles
Melbourne to Bangkok - 4570 miles
Bangkok to Tel Aviv - 4300 miles
Tel Aviv to Los Angeles - 7560 miles
Los Angeles to Doha - 8290 miles
Doha to Dubai - 237 miles
Dubai to Los Angeles - 8320 milesSo in just 2 months, Maria has travelled 48237 miles!
Thanks to Web Flyer for supplying the mileage statistics.
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
This is the moment of Maria Sharapova. The Russian beauty just won the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. Her image is all over billboards and television commercials for companies such as Nike, Canon, Tag Heuer, Prince and Sony Ericsson. She is one of most successful female athletes in the world—both financially and competitively. Locally, Sharapova hits Miami for the annual Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne this month (March 26th to April 6th). Expect to see some hard-hitting serves and aces as Maria attempts to win her first title here. Of course, the sexy tennis star is no stranger to Florida. Not only does Sharapova, who is ranked number-five in the world, reside in Sarasota, but she has also been spotted at multiple Miami Heat games and lists China Grill as one of her favorite restaurants.
Although she posed in a bikini for the infamous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2006 and is a ubiquitous presence on television and in print with her ads for Canon, Sharapova is no Anna Kournikova flash-in-the-pan endorsement princess. She is a serious player, whose talent was first discovered by Martina Navratilova in Moscow when she was only six. This recognition prompted Maria’s father, Yuri, to relocate from Russia to Bradenton, Florida, so that he could enroll his daughter in the prestigious Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (Maria’s mom joined the family stateside two years later). The sacrifice paid off when Sharapova turned pro in April 2001. Although she has yet to reach her 21st birthday (she’ll hit that milestone next month), Maria has already racked up an impressive collection of wins (including Grand Slams titles at the Australian Open, U.S. Open and French Open). More significantly, she has set up her own foundation to assist disabled children and designs most of her on-court ensembles (in conjunction with Nike). In between tournaments spanning the globe (she had just returned from Israel), Sharapova spoke with Ocean Drive about what the future holds, both professionally and personally.
OCEAN DRIVE: What are you most looking forward to at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament this month?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I’ve always loved this event because it’s a really fun crowd. There are a variety of fans. It has a Latino feeling. It’s a mixed crowd, which you don’t see very often. Miami is more of an entertainment town than a sports town and everyone is really excited when the event comes here. All of the players look forward to it, too. Aside from the Grand Slams, it’s one of the biggest tournaments for us.
When you are playing how conscious are you of the crowd?
I try to block everyone out—even if they are cheering with me. When I get on the court, my number-one priority is to focus on what I have to do to win. For my entire career, I have tried to block out anything that’s going on around me. But it’s important to have support on your side. It helps you when you are down. Your fans lift you up.
How hot does it get playing here?
It does get hot. But after the Australian Open, it’s not that hot. I was raised in Florida and I still live here, so I’m pretty used to the heat. Growing up, I practiced in the heat. It’s not a surprise anymore.
You have been to the finals of the Sony Ericsson but never won. Is this your year?
I hope so. You always want to do better than previous years. Obviously, it’s a tournament I have not won before. It’s one that I want to add on to my list.
Congratulations on winning the Australian Open. What was that like?
Throughout the two weeks, I had different competition. I felt like I was playing better as the competition was getting tougher. As an athlete, your goal is to raise your level of play. I was happy that I was able to do that.
What was the actual moment like when you won?
It was great. I had some very good wins during the week but after each one, I still knew the tournament wasn’t over. After the final point, it takes you a while to figure out that it actually is over.
You have won Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and now the Australian. Are you gearing up for the French Open in order to win all four Grand Slam titles?
I am. I have a lot of respect for the French Open. It will be the toughest Grand Slam for me to win. It’s physically challenging to play on clay, especially against clay-court players. There are long rallies. I’m physically stronger now than I was a few years ago, and my results are getting better and better.
How often are you traveling, and what is it like being on the road so much?
We have tournaments 11 months of the year. Our off-season is very short. It’s a month in December. When I travel, it’s tough. I can be on the road for seven to eight weeks at times. It’s challenging. You have to pack well.
Are you an expert packer?
By this time, I am. I travel with one bag for my sport clothes and another bag for my off-court clothes and shoes. That’s usually the bigger bag.
Do you get to sightsee on these trips? Do you go to museums?
I try to. When you are winning, you are there for two weeks straight. And the tournament keeps going and your focus is on winning. When you don’t sightsee, it’s a good thing because you know you are doing well in the tournament. For example, I’ve been to the Louvre in Paris, but I don’t have the time to see every gallery and museum.
Is the tour a lonely place or are the girls friendly?
It’s an individual sport, so you may be playing against whomever you are friends with. They are going to be on the other side of the net. It’s difficult to have best friends on tour. But so many Russian girls are on the top, it seems like we play against each other every week.
How do you feel about the Russian dominance of women’s tennis?
It has been going on for a while. It’s great to see. The coolest part of it is that we all developed our talent in different parts of the world. Some stayed in Russia, some trained in Spain, and some went to the States. It’s not like we went to the same school, did the same drills and ate the same food. And we all managed to get to the top with different paths.
You play for Russia in the Fed Cup, but you live in the United States. Where do your loyalties lie?
I’m always going to be Russian. That’s where my family lives. I moved here because of my career. My coach lives here. You get accustomed to the culture. You meet new friends. But my blood will always be Russian. That’s where I was born. So, even though I live in the States, I am very close to my home country. I eat Russian food all the time.
What is some of your favorite Russian comfort food?
I love borscht, the traditional soup made with beets. We have these dumplings that my grandma makes that are really good. And blintzes, which are crepes in English.
Where do you live?
My main home is in Sarasota, Florida. I bought a house in Manhattan Beach, California, a few years ago. It’s my vacation house.
How often are you in Miami?
Quite often. I have friends in Miami and I do some of my shoots here. It’s definitely a place I look forward to visiting.
When you came to America in 1995 with your father, you arrived in Miami. Do you have a soft spot in your heart for the city?
I do. It’s the first place where we landed when we came from Russia. There are a lot of memories.
Which players do you admire?
It’s hard to admire other players because you have to go out there and play against them. You hope that you beat them. I’ve never been a person who had heroes or people to look up to. I’ve never thought that anyone was perfect, including myself. Everybody has flaws. I appreciate people’s talent and ability. I try to pick up on the good things they do. But I never wanted to play the same way someone played or be like someone else.
Those Canon ads are adorable. Are you a good photographer?
I’m the person who always has my camera out when no one else does. I love taking pictures. I love memories. Sometimes when I want to see pictures of when I was young and there aren’t many of them, I’m like, darn it, we didn’t take any pictures. Now I don’t want that to happen
What is your biggest indulgence?
I’m really into modern art. I hope I can buy an Ed Moses this year. That is my latest obsession.
Who are your favorite designers?
Chanel, Vera Wang and Tom Ford. I love fashion. I would love to incorporate my ideas into fashion—after tennis, of course.
You wear some pretty splashy outfits on the court. How involved are you in the design of these clothes?
I work with the Nike designers constantly on all the things I wear. I have a lot of input on design and colors. It’s a fun process. When I travel around the world, I am inspired by the way people dress. I incorporate that into what I wear.
What was it like doing the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue?
It was fun. It’s not every day that I take pictures in a bikini.
Are you a party girl? Do you like to go out?
No. I don’t like to go out at all. I prefer staying home and watching movies. I travel so much that when I get home I just want to be home. I need peace and quiet in my life. When you are on the road, everything is just go, go, go.
Is it hard for you to date with your schedule?
It’s more difficult versus living in one place. Any relationship that I have is long-distance because of the amount of travel. That makes it tough.
Are you dating anyone?
I don’t talk about that.
What type of music do you listen to? Who are your favorite artists?
Dave Matthews, David Gray and Amy Winehouse. I can listen to hip-hop and then I can easily go into something slower like Counting Crows.
You are a self-proclaimed SportsCenter junkie.
I spend so much time with guys when I travel and all they talk about is sports. Watching SportsCenter has become a habit.
Why are people so fascinated by your grunting on the court?
I don’t know. It’s laughable.
What causes do you support?
I work with the United Nations Development Programme on efforts at Chernobyl. That has been a big part of my life. My mom was pregnant in Belarus during Chernobyl and that’s why we moved to Russia. I am working with the UNDP on many projects. I’m actually going to Belarus this year to see some of the hospitals and computer centers they have built. These are really exciting projects, which I am spending a lot of time on.
Tell me about your foundation.
I raise money for kids with disabilities and try to help them achieve their goals.
How long will you play tennis?
Until the day I have no interest in going to the practice court. Or when I don’t feel like getting better. I will be playing for the next five years.
And what about life after tennis?
I don’t see myself coaching. One of my goals is to open a small tennis academy back in Russia for young kids. They need a good indoor center. One of the reasons I left Russia is that they don’t have too many good indoor centers, and the ones they had were pretty expensive. They were more for the rich than young kids growing up.
четверг, 06 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
понедельник, 03 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
и я не могу дождаться, когда пойду на неё, чтобы поддержать подругу. Очень рекомендую посмотреть фильм во время уикэнда первой недели показа!!
воскресенье, 02 марта 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
Maria has done a brand new top 10 list for the site and she lists the top 10 things that annoys her. Here is the list:
10. When people are late.
9. When someone parks their car and doesn't straighten their wheel out.
8. When you're sitting in an empty movie theater and someone comes and either sits right next to you, or right below you.
7. When you're at home and outside construction begins before 8am.
6. Snorers on flights.
5. When you're having a text conversation with someone and in the middle of it they disappear.
4. First time travelers at the security checkpoint (don't ask questions, just take the computer out!)
3. When someone opens the window on a flight and the whole cabin lights up.
2. Washing your car, to watch it become twice as dirty the next day when it rains.
1. When they dont have the shoes I want in my size! 
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
As promised here's the new doodle! Like a typical Aries, I am always doing things non-stop. Problem with that is once I get to a point when I can't get go anymore, I go into crash mode and get sick....which basically means all I want to do is sleep, and eat. Ok I did go to the grocery store, and the florist, but that's because my biggest pet peeve is when my refrigerator is empty and there are no flowers in the vases. Thank God my friends finally came into town and are not giving me a chance to think that I'm tired or sick, largely due to the fact that we're all going on a weekend getaway.
The week in Doha was very bazaar. I guess there was a sand storm going on and the first few days we were playing in Moc50 winds. What is it with me and the storms these last couple months? Between the storms in Israel and Doha, I could seriously pitch my own show to the weather channel. Anyways the good thing is that I found a way to play through it and found a way to win, which is the most important thing I guess. Let me just mention that the noise of the motorcycles during the ceremony scared the living crap out of me....I hope they showed my reaction when I saw them coming out.... it was really priceless.
Because I have traveled a numerous amount of miles this year to say the least, I have noticed a few interesting things. You know how during overseas flights, you have this flight path tv station that tells you where you're going, etc. The only real thing I get from that is 'time to destination', which you always fear is another 10 hours. But things like outside temperature (um who cares what the temperature is outside when you're forty thousand feet above the ground!), time at present position (so if you're over Alaska it tells you the local time there?), or even how far above the ground you are (let's face it even if we're at 10,000 ft above the ground, instead of the normal 35,000, why would I want to know that we're about to crash?) are pretty useless stats if you ask me.
Have you ever noticed how macho immigration officers seem to be? Instead of the How are you today, they throw in a 'where are you coming from and why were you there' type of sentence and give you that don't mess with me look. Well in the last few months I have had the funniest experiences with them. When we were coming back from Israel, the officer looks at me and goes 'Giiiirl you know they have a direct flight from Australia these days. No need to stop in Israel next time!'. Yesterday the gentleman asked me if I won that tournament in Doha and after I said yes he asked me where the prize was. I said I actually don't know, I think they're sending it to my house. He goes 'no no darling I mean the check. How much did you receive for winning that one?'. After I proceeded to tell him the amount he says "Man, I got the wrong job!" It was so funny!!
Oh I wanted to tell you about someone really cool I met ...I went to this private pre-Grammy party before I left to Doha and got a chance to see some really interesting things to say the least hahaha. But the cutest girl I met was the singer Sia. I absolutely love her music and when she introduced herself and said my name is Sia, I almost started singing her song. She was so humble and bubbly....I guess outgoing is the right word....ah anyways I was very excited!
Quote of the week is from the movie Anger Management..... "sarcasm is anger's ugly cousin". I have been using it quite a lot!
I am really excited about this week.... it's finally Camilla's movie premier (10,000BC) and I can't wait to go and support her. Highly recommend to go see it on opening weekend!!
And of course after a few days off, I will start training for a good week or so before I head to Palm Springs. Sooo with that will leave you to it! xx
четверг, 28 февраля 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
вторник, 26 февраля 2008
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you a little update on why I had to withdraw this week. First of all I was playing with a bad cold throughout the Doha tournament, but thankfully it held up well enough to keep me playing throughout the week. I flew to Dubai right after my final and woke up this morning feeling really fatigued and stuffed up with a cough. After trying to hit a little bit this evening I came to the conclusion that I'm realistically not going to be ready to play 5 matches in the next 5 days.
It's been such a great and healthy start to the year, and I dont want to jepodize that by making the wrong decisions, as I have in the past. The plan is to have a nice week of 'nothing' and start up training for Palm Springs healthy and fresh.
Once I get home you will all receive a great doodle! Can't tell you how excited I am to have some days off! To all my fans that were going to see me in Dubai...I am really really sorry but the good news is that my career is still very young and I will be back playing in Dubai many more times!!
**but i'm a supergirl and supergirls don't cry**
Мария с командой приняли решение не играть на этой неделе на турнире II категории в ОАЭ Dubai Tennis Championships. Следующий турнир, на котором планирует выступить Маша – Индиан-Уэллс – Pacific Life Open, стартующий 12 марта.