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 wasn't fighting out there in the second set, ... I wasn't the Maria you usually see, fighting for every single point.
I wasn't fighting out there in the second set. It was like I was giving it up. But it gives me confidence I can pull out a win like that.
I was moving quite well in the first set and then second set I felt a little sloppy, ... You know, played a sloppy game at 4-2 serving with the wind, made a few easy errors. But other than that, came back strong. She hits pretty flat, so it was a little different compared to the other opponents I played in previous matches.
I got off to a great start and then maybe I wasn't aggressive enough and let her into the match in the second set. I don't know exactly what happened, I just lost my concentration a bit, but was able to get back on track in the final set.
It's very unfortunate. She played unbelievable tennis, the best I've seen her play. She played basically out of her mind in the second set, and it was so close in the third set.
It was definitely not easy. We were breaking each other's serves left and right out there. It was a miracle when someone held serve. I just tried to hang in there. It's really tough being down two set points. But I gutted it out in the first point, then had an easy second point.
When I look back, there were chances I could have taken and didn't. In the second set especially, I didn't have my usual fight to the end. It wasn't any particular point, but a little here and there made a big difference.
I put extra pressure on her second serve and I was in control on most points,
I love to eat, and if I could, I'd eat every second of my life.
In the second set, mentally I wasn't there and I didn't have any motivation. I wasn't fighting, I basically gave up.
In the second set I could have fought a little harder. I didn't have the fighting sprit that I usually have.
In the beginning of the match I wanted to dictate from the first point, I think it was very important. In the second set obviously it was very tough, but I was able to finish it off.
I knew it was going to be tough. I came out hitting a lot of winners. I felt like I was playing great. After the second set, I didn't feel like I was there. I felt like I was making too many errors. I managed to get it back (in the third set).
The score doesn't say much about the match,