Q. On Monday you said your shoulder was still giving you a bit ‑‑ or was it Tuesday, your shoulder was giving you a bit?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Wednesday, yeah.
Q. How did it feel today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, I feel it at times in the match, but I don't know. I try not to think about it, yeah. It's still there at times.
Q. It seems like you're moving pretty well. So is there some benefit of having that time off just conditioning‑wise, footwork‑wise? MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, in a way. For one week I couldn't do anything just because I couldn't really move my shoulder up and down because there was a significant amount of pain when I did so. So I really couldn't do much for a week.
But after that, for one week I was basically, you know, in the gym and on the court without a tennis racquet for four hours a day. And you know, that's something new. That's probably something I will get to do in the off‑season, November and December. So it was something new for me.
Yeah, I worked a lot physically as well, but it kind of has to be what you're doing because you don't have another choice.
Q. So do you feel when you get back on court after not hitting balls, do you actually feel stronger and faster as a result?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I feel terrible. I feel like a cow on ice. Especially on clay.
Q. Really?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, the first few days, definitely, in the first few matches you play.
Q. Why, because the first step doesn't come back?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Why? Because I don't play on clay for the other ten months of the year, yeah. It's not as natural for me, just because I don't play that much on it.
Q. Does it come back faster though because you've been playing now, whatever it is, five, six years on clay? Does it come back faster than say it would last year, just the movement, the sliding, the planting, all of that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, fortunately and unfortunately, but last year I had a foot problem, so I really couldn't do a lot of movement. I could do shoulder stuff and I could do all of the things, I could do the bike, but I couldn't really move on the court and off as well. So there's not a lot of preparation movement‑wise. Whereas this year I could do a lot of movement and I just had to take it easy on the shoulder.
Q. Players in the past, I think of Rafter or Henman, who have invested a lot of time playing on clay, that's not their natural surface, because they're convinced it will help them with their game on other surfaces. Do you think there is anything about the time you invest on clay that will help you on grass or hard courts?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, the only time you can significantly play on clay is basically after Miami, and that's really when I had to take the time off. So basically, it is about eight to ten weeks where you can spend, because Miami is the last tournament. If you do well, there's only like eight weeks of preparation. So it's just ‑‑ on hard, even indoors, it's a lot similar to a hard court.
Grass is obviously very different, but I adjust and I feel more comfortable there, just because of the gripping of the court.
Q. Two new faces next to your father in the stands. Does it mean that you are not working anymore with Michael Joyce and your physical trainer?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, no. Michael's coming to Birmingham. His mom passed away a few weeks ago, so he's been with his family at home. And he's joining us, yeah. But I talk to him every day. He's actually more tired now than he is on the road, because I talk to him in the middle of the night and he's watching my matches, so...
I told him to get his butt over here, yeah. I'm with his hitting partner, that is with my dad right now, Eric. He's Mike's friend, and I've known Eric since I was very young as well, so...
Q. Has there been a time since during the season since you turned pro when you've had this much time sort of off as you've had the last few weeks?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Have I what? Say it again.
Q. During the season, has there been a time since you turned pro where you've had this much time away from tennis and off
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Probably not, no.
Q. What do you think about that? How did that feel?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's incredible. I don't know if it was good for me or not, because I want more of that sometimes. You know, like I said in my first interview, I don't think you actually realize what your career has given you or brought you until you actually get to spend the time there and see it for yourself.
I was able to live a normal life alone by myself for a few weeks where, you know, I got to go to the grocery store, and I had to cook my own breakfast and my lunch. It was just so unusual for me because when I'm a week here or week there at home. Either my mom comes and I see her, and she'll do all of that great stuff, and she'll be the one going to Target and buying toilet paper. I think I seriously ran out and I had to go to a friend's house next door to get some, which is very unusual, a new experience for me.
I know I'm 20 years old, but in a way, I am so mature because of what my career has brought me, but in ways I've missed out on the normal things of life which I'm really not used to. And it was wonderful, I love it.
Q. Can a grocery store be a little overwhelming if you haven't spent much time there?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely, the first time I was lost, absolutely lost. Now I've got it under control. I know where the vegetables are, where my favorite cheese is, I've got it all going.
Q. So how's the cooking?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: The cooking is awful (laughing). It's completely awful. I always call my friends over to help me, yeah. I'm not very patient, and I can't wait for things to boil and to fry and make sure it's not red and all of that. But I usually go to my friends house and help them cook, which is just cutting up a vegetable, yeah.
Q. Just for someone as focused as you are all the time, that kind of a mental break, do you think it will really help you, or do you think it's something that might actually be somewhat of a distraction?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Definitely is not a distraction. You know, once I'm back on the road, I actually start to miss it. I mean, after a while, when I was talking to my friends the day before I left, I, you know, was telling them, "It's crazy. I'm not going to see you guys for the next eight weeks because I've seen you for so long."
They're like, "That's actually a good thing, Maria."
They were very happy I was leaving, because they don't get to do a lot of work when I'm there. So they're actually pretty pleased that I was going away.
Q. In what way, what did they mean?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: They were relieved that they could actually earn some money while I'm gone, and go to the office and get some work done. Because when I'm there, after my practices, I'll call them up and I'm like, "All right, we're doing things together," you know, because I don't get to see them that much.
So when I'm home, I like to spend time with them. But, I mean, it gave me a different perspective on life as well. Because also the things going on with Michael's family. It was a lot of ups and downs injury‑wise, family‑wise. You know, no one really that close to me has ever passed away before, so that was a little bit of a ‑‑
Q. Were you there when his mom passed away?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I was in Los Angeles, yeah.
Q. Did you go to the funeral?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah.
Q. Have you ever been to a funeral before?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. It was pretty sad. It just makes you realize that, you know, I'm sure his mom would have loved getting a cortisone shot instead of chemotherapy. It just makes you realize that there are so many worse things in life. And that's why being home, being around his family also helped me a lot. I'm very close to them, and I've known his family for a very long time, since I was 10 or 11 years old.
Q. So that must have been just a little bit different for you, for you to be in the supportive role for Mike, instead of him being in the supportive coaching‑friends role, too?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Definitely. But it was, you know, I didn't feel the need ‑‑ he made a lot of effort to be on the practice court when he could. You know, when she was going through the chemotherapy and when she was really sick, he would practice with me in the morning and then go straight to see her and be with her. Then I'd see her once in a while.
But it's sad, you know, because she gets the perspective of the people around her she's never going to see again. So it was a very ‑‑ it was a very different experience because there is only so much you can say to make someone feel better. Tons of people can say I'm sorry, but Michael and his family are the only ones that can really feel what it's about, because it's their mother.
Q. Totally different question. Do you know Alla Kudryavtseva?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I saw her play a little bit before I went on. I saw a few points on Dulko, but other than that, I've never seen her play or anything, no.