Maria Sharapova Sito Italiano

PRE-TORNEO

VERSIONE INGLESE

Q. Are you going to watch the football game today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely.

Q. What do you think about Russia's chances?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: We'll, we're playing a pretty tough team, but I'm very excited. I'm not in a hotel room. I'm actually in a house this time. I'm going to watch it with a group of friends, my dad. I think I have a Russian hat from Fed Cup. I might wear that.
I'm excited. It's going to be tough, but you never know. Turkey wasn't the favorite yesterday and they won.

Q. What have you been doing since Paris?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, took a few days off. You know, I went back on the practice court and just worked, yeah.

Q. That's it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Pretty boring (laughter).

Q. How did it feel? What can you say about your physical condition?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's good. Yeah, I just wanted to change it up a little bit this year. Every single year I've stayed in Europe between the French and Wimbledon. This year I wanted to go back home, you know, give my body and mind a little rest.
Wanted a change of pace this year. You know, I've played a lot of matches already. Still feel like I have a lot ahead of me. I just have to be smart scheduling wise and, you know, making sure that when I get to the tournament I'm ready to play.

Q. Are you becoming more of a homebody?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: A little bit, yeah (smiling). Yeah, it's just I mean, it's kind of strange, because every single year, you know, you do the same thing. It was just so awkward being home at this time of year. You had the NBA Finals going on. It was strange 'cause, you know, being around my friends, they're like, You're never home at this time of year. You're never home during the summer.
It was a little strange, but it was good. It's always good to kind of get back home, recharge your batteries. It's so funny, because literally within 24 hours of my loss in Paris I was in my little local coffee shop with my cookbook seeing what I'm going to cook for dinner. It was such a different world, and it's great that I have that. I can switch off, have that normal life outside the tennis world.

Q. Was your body telling you needed to take things easier? Did you feel you were in some way playing too much tennis?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No. I looked at the year ahead of me, the amount of traveling, the matches that I'm going to be playing, and I just thought it was wise. I thought it's better to get on a practice court rather than going to a tournament and playing a tournament.

Q. You've learned to cook now, huh?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I'm getting better. You'd be surprised (smiling). L.A. tournament, if I win, I'll invite you all to my pad for dinner.

Q. What is your specialty?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Italian, because that's the easiest thing to cook. I'm good at pasta and sauces.

Q. You're cooking at the house over the fortnight?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I haven't yet, no, but I don't have that much time. No, I haven't here.

Q. When you're sitting in the coffee shop before you do the cookbook, and you're thinking about what happened in Paris, and then looking ahead...
MARIA SHARAPOVA: God, no. Absolutely not.

Q. Just talk about coming back on the plane, your thought process, then looking ahead. What am I going to do different? What do I need to do going forward? That kind of thing.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, what can you say? I was one point away from winning the match. I wouldn't even be asking myself that question if it would have been a won match. That's why I always say that's the interesting thing about tennis: one point can change so many things. You know, you're either going to the next round or you're going to the travel agent. That's the way it works.
You know, sometimes you win them and sometimes you lose them. For some reason, the losses at the French don't really carry over for too long, so...

Q. How do you feel you've changed as a player since you won here four years ago?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think a lot. I really do. I think I've become a smarter and more experienced player. You know, I'm more aware of what's going on. On the court I'm more aware of what I have to do if things are not working. You know, I'm definitely smarter out there. I'm physically a lot stronger than I was, you know, that many years ago.
It's kind of crazy it's been that long. I can't wait to relive that moment.

Q. You regard America as home, but what you said about the football team, you still consider yourself Russian. How do you correlate the two?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, I moved to the States because of my tennis, you know, because becoming a professional tennis player, or trying to at that age, the conditions that were offered there were not good. You know, you're not able to play six days a week, four hours of tennis. That was just impossible. There were not enough facilities. The weather did not permit it. It was quite expensive at that time because of the limited amount of courts and facilities. It's practically impossible.
When you have to make those choices you move to a different country, you live there for such a long time, get accustomed to life and the culture and the way things are, you make friends there, you spend more than half of your life there, you know, it is kind of strange, definitely.
But, you know, I know where my roots are. I mean, all my family, apart from my parents, are all in Russia. When I'm home I speak Russian, I read Russian. We're a big Russian family when I'm at home. But, you know, the home happens to be in America, so...

Q. What outfit are you planning to unveil?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Changing it up this year. I'm going with the traditional shorts, believe it or not. I've never worn shorts at a Grand Slam. I'm gonna be debuting that. Call it menswear, obviously. It's kind of like a tuxedo look, very simple lines, classic.

Q. You've always been mature for your age. At 21, do you feel like a mature adult? You spoke about what Michael's mother went through in Australia. How did that help you grow up?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think with what I do I don't think anybody has a choice but to be mature. To travel around the world like we do, to have the commitments, to be a professional athlete, it's just impossible to not be mature. This job requires a lot of that. You've got to be a strong individual, as well. You've got to stand up for yourself. You're an athlete, but along with that come a lot of other things.
You know, over the years of I think I saw an interview of myself after I won Wimbledon. It's just so funny, those memories. You look back, so overwhelmed by it all. I was like, Yeah, I'm so excited. You know, just see like this little innocent girl. Look what I turned into.

Q. Were you embarrassed by rereading what you said back then?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I actually saw it. Somebody got me a tape of it. I think it was an interview with Sue Barker, one of my last interviews after I won Wimbledon. You could just tell I was so exhausted by doing so many interviews. I was giving like three word replies to her. She was like, Is this girl going to talk? It was really funny.

Q. You talked a bit about that that year wasn't a fluke, because you were a fairly accomplished player. It sort of came out of nowhere for you.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah.

Q. Coming back to the last three years and then to now, do you feel like you actually have to mature more as a player on grass because there are more things to learn on the surface?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely, you know, just because I feel like my game, you know, suits grass or just because I feel comfortable on it doesn't mean that a win is gonna come easy.
There are a lot of big competitors in the draw, different types of players. You're also going from a court surface that's completely different than grass, so your mentality also has to change a bit. Absolutely, you learn.
Unfortunately, you don't have that much time to learn. You know, there's only a couple of weeks. Only one week of practice on it to learn. But, you know, that's all right. You got to deal with it. Hopefully it will come together.

Q. How much did you get a chance to follow Tiger Woods' performance at the U.S. Open?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I didn't watch it too much. I usually don't watch golf in general. I sometimes follow Tiger, especially if it's on TV. If I randomly run into it, I'll watch it. I read about it a little bit. One of my friends is a news junky. She watches all the sports. She always fills me in.
Yeah, she told me the incredible comeback, what happened. Now he has to get reconstruction on his knee, right? But I guess a win like that is worth it.

Q. As a fellow athlete, what do you take away from that performance, especially given his injuries?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, what a fighter and competitor he is to go through that pain. He seems like somebody that's not going to let the world know that he's in pain. He's gonna do whatever it takes, because all he cares about is himself. That's just a strong personality and individual. Even though I don't know much about golf, somebody I can look up to, definitely.

Q. When you won Wimbledon 2004, there were photographs in the newspapers the following week of you spending some of your winnings shopping in the streets of London. Are we going to see the same thing this year?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Depends if I win or not.

Q. You're only going to shop if you win?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Winning or losing does not stop my shopping. No, that is a fact.
No, I don't know. I mean, when you lose, to be honest, you want to get on the next flight home. That's why usually you don't see me shopping after I lose.
But I don't know. I mean, yeah, I'm sure I love London in general. I love the fact that in Europe and in England you get to walk around, just experience the life outside. It seems like in the States, a lot of the time you're always driving everywhere.
In Europe, Italy especially, you're always walking to places. I think that's why people are so thin all the time. They're walking everywhere. Walking to the market and the grocery store.
In the States, you get out of your house, you get in your garage, you get in your car, you get in the cart, put the groceries in the cart, drive it into your garage, and it's there. Here it seems like you get to walk everywhere and experience things, live a little bit. It's fun.

Q. Do you feel better and fresher than you have been in the last couple years arriving at Wimbledon?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think it's gonna help me towards the end of the year more than anything. Like I said, I mean, this year we have the Olympics. I mean, I'm treating it as another Grand Slam. It's a big event for all of us. It's like three Grand Slams back to back, four.
You have Wimbledon, the French, the Olympics, in a few weeks, the US Open. There's no slowing down. If you play a lot of matches, not only do you physically have to be in shape, but you mentally want to be able to go out and play matches and compete. If you're not there physically and mentally, then that's just tough.
Those are just the schedule decisions you have to make earlier in the year that are going to hopefully help you towards the end. I've had a few experiences where I've made those wrong decisions and it's kind of cost me in the later stages of the year.

Q. A lot of the big women players don't have a tune up event. Does it really matter? Is it just a matter of getting a little practice on grass before a big tournament like this?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, maybe a little bit. Obviously, practice is not the same as a tournament, actually going and competing in front of a crowd on Centre Court. It's not the same as going and playing a practice match.
But to be honest, I don't think it really matters, no.

Q. Realistically how many players do you think are capable of winning this tournament?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know. I don't know. I don't sit there and look through the draw and pinpoint on who has a chance and who doesn't. You know, I go about my business.

Q. Who do you see as your rivals to your winning a second title here?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, obviously the Williams, you know, are always good competitors on grass. Venus, you know, is really tough on grass. She has a great game for it. Two Serbian girls, as well. I mean, they've been playing really good tennis.
But then you also have, you know, players that are maybe not favored that go out and have not much to lose and can go out and play their best tennis. So, yeah.

1° TURNO vs. S.FORETZ 6-1 6-4

VERSIONE INGLESE

Q. One down, six more to go?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You could look at it that way, yeah.

Q. Feel comfortable out there?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, it was definitely a good start, considering I didn't have a warmup tournament like I usually do. My main goal is just to go out there, get a feel for it as fast as I could and get the job done.

Q. Quite an eye catching outfit.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Thank you.

Q. I'm wondering, how much do you test drive an outfit before you approve it? Is it comfortable to play in? How much did you test it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I do. I usually wear test it in one practice. But I usually do that like seven months before because, you know, the process takes quite a long time. I mean, I already know what I'm wearing, you know, in the fall 2009.
So, you know, yeah, it's pretty far in advance because stuff has to go to retail and all that stuff.

Q. What inspired the white tuxedo look?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I love menswear in general. You know, I love tuxedo jackets. I love things that are actually a little bit baggier and wide. I loved when that whole wide legged pant trend kind of set in, because I love that. I'm tall and I can pull those things off.
So it was fun doing it because, you know, it's hard to do things different with white. You know, there's only so much you could do. I thought, why not do shorts this year? I've never done it at a Grand Slam. You know, if there's one place to do it, it's here.

Q. What will you wear next year then, if you already know?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Oh, goodness (laughter). I still haven't finished the tournament. We've got a lot in store.

Q. With all due respect, that top takes a certain type of body to pull that off. Do you really expect that to be a big seller off the rack?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know. A lot of the stuff I wear is actually promo only. Like the jacket's not in stores because the materials are usually brought in from Italy and France a lot of the time.
Uhm, and, I don't know actually. I hope it does. It's a beautiful top. It's so well done. To be able to perform in that, with it being so thin, so mobile, it's really cool.

Q. What did you think of Serena's raincoat and Roger's cardigan?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I didn't see it. I did see Federer's cardigan. I thought that was classic. It was beautiful.

Q. You spoke in New York with the black dress of your love of Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Talk about tuxedos.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I love how 10 of the questions are about what we're wearing. It's amazing.

Q. Did you expect anything else?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, I don't (laughter). Every time I get asked about it, it still amazes me.

Q. That's the point.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: As long as I'm amazed and not bored, you're doing a good job (laughter).
I don't know why. Like I said, I think it's very flattering, especially on women, to be able to pull off a look that's basically menswear. You know, from very tailored jackets to things that are a little bit oversized, as well.
I didn't wear my pants on court today, but they're very wide legged and high waisted. I love that trend. It's very classic. You can't go wrong with it.
Like I said, if there's a place to do it, it's definitely Wimbledon.

Q. Not to bore you with a tennis question.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You always do that (smiling).

Q. In Australia you started playing well early, got off to a fast start, played great all the way through. In France, you kind of tried to work your way through. It's clay. Didn't work as well. Today you're playing well. Did you feel like coming in that's important for you to start playing well early, get a feel for the ball, maybe your game will come?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I've had different experiences in Grand Slams. You know, sometimes I feel like I start off slow and I find my rhythm throughout the tournament. I get better and better.
In France, even though I lost in the fourth round, I really feel like my level had stepped up from my three rounds. You know, like I said, I was so close to winning the match, and then you end up talking about losing the match. Very thin line between winning and losing.
Obviously it's very important to start off the tournament on a good form. I knew my opponent has already played a couple of matches. Going on to Court 1 today, I knew the court would be a little bit different as the practice courts. It's not as worn out, as well.
Just wanted to get a feel for it as fast as I could and do the right things and win the match as quickly as I could.

Q. Do you think all the attention to the fashion, is it more the players that happen to be at the top now, that you're all sort of fashion conscious and savvy, or is it more marketing by the tour? It's really relatively new that we talk so much about what the people are wearing, especially the women.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think it's that new. It's been around for a few years.

Q. I'm saying in the last few years, though.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Okay, that's new?
I think it's great. I mean, look, tennis is not a sport where you have to wear uniforms. It's an individual sport. If you have the relationships with the brands, and I've been with Nike since I was very young and we've gained the trust in each other, you know, where we can go into a room and I can have a voice in what I like, what I don't like, my inspirations, what I feel like wearing, the colors I feel like wearing. It's a collaboration. It really is. If you can do that, why not?
I've loved fashion since I was very young. I've loved creating things. I love materials. I loved working with thread and needles, making things on my own. Having Nike behind that, to be able to produce things like what I wore on court today, is incredible.

Q. Could you sew one yourself, do you think?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely not (smiling).

Q. What do you think of Nike? They really are a little bit of a risk taker. They work with Federer, Serena. Have you been to their campus in Oregon?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I have. A few times.

Q. What are your thoughts about their people and their approach in the market?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: What I love about them is they really think out of the box. They're not one dimensional. You know, they love experimenting. They love listening to what you feel comfortable with, what's going to work for you. They care about the athlete. That's so important, because they want you to go out and feel comfortable with what you're wearing.
I think, you know, we also have to realize that in this world tennis is sort of small compared to soccer and compared to American football in the States. So, uhm, you know, they realize, you know, maybe not as many tennis dresses are going to be sold, but if we can create things that are exciting, that are very well made...
Like I said, they go into factories in little towns in Italy and they try to find the best material, the best buttons and everything in order to create this one look.
It's great working with a company like that, that is able to you know, that is able to put things on the line and is not afraid of taking chances.

Q. On the flipside, have they ever brought in a concept where you shook your head?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, numerous times, tons of times. We had a meeting a couple months ago. Yeah, there are a lot of times where you don't agree on things, but that's the fun thing of it. It's about creating something special that both of you like.

Q. Are you going to carry the flag for Russia at the opening ceremony?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think so, no.

Q. Speaking of Russia, you were talking about the football team on Saturday. They're through to the semifinals. How does that motivate you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It motivates me on a different level. I'm so proud they got through that. You know, it was kind of nerve wracking when it was tied five minutes left into the game. We really thought we had it.
You know, we're brave. We're strong. We work hard at what we do. Good things happen.

Q. Are Russians prouder now than a few years ago?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Prouder? We've always been proud. That's one thing we don't lack.

italian version please!

Ahahahha Maria è anche un esperta di calcio :mryellow:

ho capito un pokino! aspetto con ansia la traduzione :ok:

Gradirei una traduzione :mrorange:

2° TURNO vs. A.KUDRYAVTSEVA 2-6 4-6

VERSIONE INGLESE

Q. Have you got any explanation for what went on out there today?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I guess it wasn't my day. She just did everything better than I did. You know, she played much better. She hit the ball harder. She, uhm, you know, served and returned better.
On grass, you know those are two important elements. You know, once you don't have a lot on the ball then your opponent can take advantage of that. Obviously she had nothing to lose. She went for her shots. I was just pretty tentative.

Q. Is there any part of your game today you were happy with?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I can't be really happy about anything today.

Q. Why were you tentative?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Not sure. Very good question. A question I'll be asking myself later today.

Q. You suggested the other day that taking the time off between would be better, would be beneficial to you.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Hey, now I have more time off. Better be careful what I wish for.

Q. It seemed serving-wise you were a bit tentative. Going down the middle some. Didn't seem like backhand-wise you were feeling the stroke very well, just missing a couple inches on the cross-court.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I think I just got to look at the tape of it to really see what went on, 'cause it just went a little too fast to analyze it right now.
But from my first thoughts when I went off court, I just thought that, you know, I wasn't playing my game. I was letting her take control of the majority of the points, yeah.

Q. With the time you took off after the French, did you see this coming at all? Did you have an inkling you might have a performance like this in you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You never know what you're going to have in you. I thought I played a really solid first round, felt pretty comfortable.
But, like I said, you just never know what's going to happen on a given day. You might go out there, not feel great, or your game's not quite there. Your opponent can take advantage of that, especially somebody that is playing a top player that has not much to lose. Sometimes those opponents are the most dangerous ones.

Q. Would you rate this defeat, given the fact it's at Wimbledon, as the most disappointing in recent years for you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Losses are all disappointing, obviously. I try to sort of find a way to get back in the match, to sort of dig anywhere I could. But, you know, like I said, a loss is a loss. There's only one winner in the tournament and everybody else is disappointed, so I'm one of them.

Q. Are you fully fit?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uh-huh.

Q. The talk about what you were wearing, the fashion, did that play a distraction for you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's not the first time we've talked about what I was wearing. I've won plenty of tournaments with a lot of talk going on.

Q. Did you know much about her before? Had you seen her play? I know she played Venus tight last year in the first round.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Did she? I practiced with her a little bit at Fed Cup last year. I think I played her a couple of years ago on clay, and I won that match. You know, that was a couple of years ago and on a different surface, so...

Q. Will you reconsider your grass court preparation now for next season?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think it really had anything to do with it. Just wasn't my day.

Q. Will you head straight home now, or will you have a few days in London?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know. It's been 25 minutes since my match. I haven't really thought about it.

Q. Grass is one of the surfaces, if you're not playing that well, where things can go almost too quickly.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Absolutely.

Q. Especially it looked like on the court around the center stripes. The balls were just bouncing all over the place, on the lines, huh?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I guess so. Some days they don't bounce where you want them to bounce or they don't land where you want them to land.

Q. What are your thoughts about replay at this point?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Replay?

Q. There was a key overrule there at the end, eighth game, was it, in the second set?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think it had anything to do with the match.

Q. Did you think at that point maybe you were going to get a foothold and turn it around?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: What point are you talking about?

Q. Where the replay kept the game going.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was deuce. I think I won that game though, right?

Q. You wound up winning the game.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: That's one game I didn't lose.

Q. Pro players have so many hassles in their career, all the travel and the injuries, moments like this. What's the toughest part of being a pro tennis player? Is it losses like this or something else?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, I mean, look, over my career, even though it's been pretty young, I still have many years ahead of me. I've had to deal with a lot of ups and a lot of downs on and off the court, and I have the experience behind me.
But I think the number one thing is not be discouraged by that, not be discouraged by losses or by negative things, things here and there.
You have to find a way to keep your head up even though it's pretty tough, because you put the effort in and you work hard and you dedicate yourself every single day to be a better player and a better professional.
Sometimes, you know, the work doesn't pay off till you never know when. I don't know when that work's gonna pay off.
I had a great off-season, came into Australia, and played really great tennis. Match in, match out, I felt great, was playing better and better. Things just worked out. Sometimes, you know, I've had experiences where I've done the same thing.
I've come into a tournament and results don't just come. It's not just for me. It's for everybody. Everybody goes through it. Everybody, you know, has those moments.
But, you know, I'm experienced enough to know that life goes on and that there are a lot worse things in life that can happen than losing a tennis match, even if it's at Wimbledon and even if it means a lot to me. There are a lot worse things.
I still have the desire, even 30 minutes after the match, to go back on court and to get better, 'cause that's the only thing that's gonna get me to hold that plate again.

Q. You seem a little bit bemused now. Underneath that are you hurting? You must be hurting.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: What do you think? I know you're not hurting for me, but...
I mean, look, a loss is a loss. It's part of my job. It's part of my job to lose and talk about it, you know.

Q. Ivanovic almost loses yesterday. You lose today. Does it say that people who think it's a cliché hat there really is depth on the women's tour are wrong, that some of these younger players or even veterans can actually really play and pull off big wins on the day?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I've always said there's depth on the tour. I'm always asked about who's the bigger threat, who's your toughest opponent, who's your rivalry.
But at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. All that matters is on any given day you have to go out there, and whoever your opponent is, you have to beat them. Absolutely, I mean, everybody can present a challenge. Everybody has a lot of strength. Everybody is hungry. This girl that beat me today, she might not win the tournament, but she beat me, and it probably made her tournament. That's the way things go, yeah.

Ecco un frammento dell'intervista post-(tragedia) partita
http://mediacenter.gazzetta.it/Medi...e=wimbledon2008

scusate mi sn inscritta a qst sito xke cosi capisco quello ke riguarda la sharapova...
ma tu hai scritto tt in inglese...a qst punto dacci la traduzione cosi posso capire qualkosa anke io...grazie!! :roll: