Maria Sharapova

Media Conference Call

August 25, 2004

Q. How are the demands on your time and how are you dealing with the attention since winning Wimbledon?

A. Well, of course, when you win a major … I mean I’ve never won a major before so you never know what to expect but it’s an amazing feeling and that just comes with the fact that I won. You know, the attention and the expectations that is sort of the outside. I still know what I have to do. I still know my priorities. I still know what’s important to me.

 

Q. I know you’ve had some struggles since Wimbledon, including losing in the first match in New Haven. Do you think your form is off?

A. No, I think my first two losses, I lost to someone who was in the Top 10 in the world and then, you know, my loss last week was someone that played unbelievable tennis. When you win such an amazing tournament, that is not the end of your career. I still know that there are still so many things that I have to work on and even though I won I know that I have to improve so many more things. When I came off of Wimbledon, I started working in the last two weeks before I played the Pilot Pen. I was working on different things and I know these things don’t happen overnight and, of course, you can’t be perfect; you can’t win everything. So you just gotta … unfortunately, there’s only one winner for each tournament and out of what, 50 or 120 in a Grand Slam? That’s just the way the game goes.

 

Q. What’s been happening to you since Wimbledon? Did you manage to go home to Russia?

A. No, I have not, there’s a hard court season right around the corner and it was difficult. But I got to go back home to Florida for a little bit and I was playing a few tournaments and I was back to training. It’s very difficult to have time off so you know the U.S. Open is right around the corner so there’s not too much time but that’s part of the Tour.

 

Q. When you signed the major deal with Motorola, did you feel more pressure or are you able to put that aside when you play?

A. Yeah, I forget. I forget everything. I mean, I just signed the deal because I think it’s such an amazing connection and with me traveling around the world and having my cell phone always in my hand it’s just such an amazing connection. And the fact that I signed a deal does not put any pressure on me whatsoever. It’s something fun; it’s something that I enjoy having.

 

Q. What have you learned since Wimbledon, on and off the court?

A.  A lot to learn. I mean, you, as a player, you learn a lot about your game, the experience and just about yourself. Playing seven matches in a major and playing them so successful, you know, definitely rise up your level. But you learn, I mean, with every win or loss, you learn a lot. I definitely learn from my wins, but I actually learn more from my losses.

 

Q. Which do you see as the greatest threat to your hopes, dreams and aspirations: your Russian counterparts or Venus and Serena Williams?

A. I don’t think there is one in particular. I think everybody has their, you know, their sort of strength and everybody on a certain day can hurt you. But you never know until you go out. I think everybody is a big competitor, everybody is hungry and everybody wants to win. It just depends on the day.

 

Q. What does (IMG agent) Max (Eisenbud) do for you that helps you get through the days and weeks?

A. Well, he’s my day-to-day agent, you know, from deals to if I need a pair of shoes when I’m running out. That’s somebody that I can trust on. Just everything …. media and people go through him.

 

Q. How many times have you played on Ashe Stadium?

A. None (laughing).

 

Q. What are you feelings about playing because you’ll probably be put out there?

A. I’ve played at (Centre Court) at Wimbledon but I haven’t played on the Australian but the U.S. Open is definitely the biggest one so you know, it’s exciting, I think it would be fun if I got put on that but you know it really doesn’t matter. I don’t try to pay attention to what’s around me but for sure it’s an amazing stadium.

 

Q. Were you a little surprised by the amount of attention after winning Wimbledon?

A. Well, the fact that I never won a Grand Slam, I didn’t know what to expect. I guess this happens to somebody that wins a major. Of course, it was more special with me being so young and being the unexpected winner. I don’t know what to say. I can’t really answer because I never won a Grand Slam before. I don’t know how the media would have been then.

 

Q. Can you give an example of something you learned in dealing with the off-the-court attention?

A. I think there’s a limit to how much you pay attention to that. You know, how you react to that is very important. To know your priorities is very important and yet know that there’s fans and there’s media and there’s a lot of other stuff off the court that might want to distract you. But as long as you, as an individual, know what you have to do and what’s more important to you I think that’s the most important thing to keep in mind.

 

Q. At yesterday’s draw, Patrick McEnroe and Zina Garrison both said they didn’t think you would do too well at this event since you’re in a bit of a slump. What’s your reaction on their comments?

A. I don’t really have an expectation. To me, I don’t have anything to prove to anybody. I never really did. You know, I play because I love this sport. I play because I really, you know, want to do great things. And first of all, I’m 17 years old and there’s so many years ahead that, you know, before even Wimbledon started I said in the media that if I don’t win this year, you know, I want to win it next year or the year after. So if I don’t win the U.S. Open this year it’s not going to be such a disaster in my life. I still know that I have so many years ahead of me. And if it doesn’t happen, hey, it doesn’t happen. But, you know, it’s not really that big of a deal. There are a lot more important things in life.

 

Q. If you could, please rate your experience from last year’s Open.

A. Well, it was a very short one so I’m very happy to be back. I lost in the second round, obviously, so you know, I love New York and hopefully this time I will get to stay here a lot longer.

 

Q. It’s the 10-year anniversary of the WTA’s eligibility rule, which as you obviously know, limits how much you can play. When they review it, do you have anything that you would like them to keep in mind? Would you like to see them loosen that up a little bit?

A. You know, the discussions they go between them and me, so those things don’t really go into the public. They revised the rule and they made a big effort to understand the rule better themselves. Hopefully, they will make improvements that will help the players but definitely they wanted input from all the players and I gave them mine. They are working very hard to do what’s right for the players.

 

Q. How are you a different player on the court today than you were at the Open last year?

A. Well, a lot has happened. And as a player, there is definitely more experience. Physically, I’m stronger. You know, a year does a lot for your game. Last year was sort of my first full year on the Tour, this is only my second so I’ve definitely got more experience, that’s very important. I’m still learning. I’m still not the best at doing everything so I’ve got a lot to learn still.

 

Q. You played so well on the grass at Wimbledon, what will be the difference? How will you be able to adjust to the hard courts now?

A. Well, I know that physically, it’s going to take a lot more and that’s one thing that’s going to be a very important factor. I know that I’m going to have to fight for every ball here because everything comes back. The points are a lot longer. And, yeah, you have to go out there and fight for every ball. That’s the most important thing you have to do.

 

Q. Do you think we should expect to see a number of other endorsement deals in the future or with the Motorola deal you’re done for a while?

A. Well, you know a lot of things have come up and I feel that my relationship with other companies has to be in that sort of sense where I think the connection is great. For example, with Motorola, it is something … the phones and the wireless connection work so well because I travel around the world and I use the product and you know I’m really able to love it. So I think that’s sort of important and I see a great importance in that.

 

Q. Can you talk about who is the strongest challenger to you in this tournament?

A. I think everybody can be a threat. I mean, I don’t want to put out a name. You just never know. Sometimes you think somebody is going to be a big threat and you know like when I played in the final of Wimbledon and then all of a sudden it turned around and it seemed sort of easy. So you never know. You got to go out and play and hopefully it’s going to be your day. You just never know. I think everybody’s such a big competitor that sometimes you just never know what to expect.