Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova; born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player. A United States resident since 1994, Sharapova has competed on the WTA tour since 2001. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She is one of ten women, and the only Russian, to hold the career Grand Slam. She is also an Olympic medalist, having earned silver for Russia in women's singles...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth19 April 1987
CityNyagan, Russia
CountryRussian Federation
I actually felt pretty good. I'm really happy about it because that's one of the first times I played a match without feeling anything. You know, I don't expect it to be that like for the whole tournament. So I'm very happy I got through that one without any pain.
I hope to be able to play (the Gold Coast) in 2007, and will be doing everything possible in consultation with my doctors to be healthy enough to play this Australian Open.
I played really well in the first set but then I just got too comfortable. I wasn't physically tired but mentally I was coasting. I just had to get myself together mentally and fight for it.
I was sick, down with flu and an upper respiratory illness.
I'm not going to admit it, even if I am.
The first match is never easy. You don't know what to expect,
I have to feel safe in order to perform well,
It's good that I ate some chocolate cake last night, ... I'm glad I put on a few pounds. Otherwise, I might have blown away out there.
But my most successful year was last year because I won my first grand slam at Wimbledon.
I'm 17 years old and there are many great things ahead. If I don't win the U.S. Open this year, it's not going to be a disaster in my life.
I hope this event will serve as an opportunity to foster a boom in tennis in Korea.
Reaching the No. 1 ranking has been a lifelong goal of mine, and achieving it here in Los Angeles would have been a dream come true. I am eager to get back to feeling 100 percent healthy and playing as soon as possible.
All the soldiers are down and it will be whoever can get up.
I think it's the toughest grand slam to win because of the traffic getting here and the busy city.