19/06/2011 14:26 CEST - INTERVISTE

Maria Sharapova (18-06-2011)

Q. Can you tell us what you've been doing between Paris and here.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Just training a lot on grass. I headed over to London a couple of days after I finished and been here since, yeah, training.

Q. How did you feel back on the grass?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Great. This is one of the best, you know, parts of the year for me. It's one of the toughest transitions from clay to grass, but for me it's a lot of fun. The bounce is low; it's quick.
Yeah, it takes a couple of days to get used to, you know, the bounce and everything. A little frustrating at times, but, yeah, it's a lot of fun.

Q. What is your sense of what Li Na's progress, and including winning the major, means to women's tennis around the world and in China?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I think she's, you know, put a lot of work in throughout her whole career. She was always a player that you kind of expected that would do well at a certain point in time because she was the type of player that would, you know, upset have a lot of upsets, but maybe not quite get to the finals or win the majors.
But you had the feeling that she was going to break through. And I feel like she improved tremendously. You know, I felt that last year. She's had a great year this year. You know, I feel like she's raising her tennis and her level.
As far as for our tennis, I think it's great. What she's done for her country, China, all the pride that they have to have a Grand Slam champion from that country is incredible. I think it brings a lot of attention to the world, you know, that we have a champion from there.

Q. Maria, what is your take on the return of the Williams sisters? Good for the game or what?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely. You know, they've been champions here for many years. You know, they're obviously the ones to beat on grass. You know, they've been out for a while. So it's definitely great to have them, yeah.

Q. On the men's side it's very hard to look beyond the top four seeds for the men's winner. How open do you think the women's competition is, given things like Serena, who's obviously very good on grass, being seeded outside. There's quite a lot of depth.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, there's obviously a lot of opportunities for the title. But I think, uhm, you know, I think we have to treat each match as if it's the final of the tournament, and you can't underestimate your opponent at any point in the time in the draw. I think it's really important to just focus on your next one.
I mean, I've never really been one to name favorites. It's not really been my job. I think that's more the media's job than anyone else's.

Q. Does it feel like a more open tournament, a whole load of people who could win it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah. But I think you could say that in many different situations.

Q. Do you feel in your best shape coming into here for two, three years?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I'm improving my tennis. I'm playing a lot better. I played a lot of matches on clay, which I really wanted to do. I always feel like, uhm, you know, one of the reasons I love the transition is because I feel like you learn so much about the game when you're on the clay courts. You think a little bit more constructing the points and all those things. I played a few tough three setters.
Yeah, it's always good, like I said, to get back on the grass.

Q. What do you remember most about where you were, what you got to see of it last year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm sure I was in many different places, practicing, on the couch, taking a nap, eating, had three courses, they were still on. I think I even slept the whole night, woke up, and they were still on (smiling).

Q. What memory do you have of your title here?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, you know, wonderful memories. I think the fact that no matter what I achieve or, uhm, how I do here, that when I retire from my career, I know that I was a very small part of Wimbledon's history.
You know, it's incredible to be part of the tradition and all the champions. Yeah, hopefully I can repeat that. That would be a dream of mine. But only the best memories from here, yeah.

Q. The little red dress at the player party, is there an element of competition with the other women when you dress for something like that?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, no. No competition. I was just really flattered that Alexander McQueen wanted me to be a part of the the British Council actually wanted to get together and a few designers designed dresses for some of the girls.
I was very fortunate to be part of Alexander McQueen's team. I am so flattered, because I think Sarah Burton, with the amount of work that she's had to do, I think she's just come out so strong and so great. The dress was from one of her first collections that she designed, so...

Q. What have you learned about yourself and the way you've come back from the injury? You spoke a little bit about examining priorities and maybe values as a result of that injury. What do you think you've learned about yourself through all this?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, you know, that at the end of the day you really just do this for yourself. It's really about you and the ball and the racquet; you're trying to create something. You know, you have your coach, you have your parents, you know, you have great people around you.
But at the end of the day, it's really about your commitment and your drive, whether you want it or not. You know, you can have as many positive words and it's really helpful and beneficial, but if you wake up and, you know, you don't want it, then you're never going to achieve anything.

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