M. Sharapova - Day 2
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Q. You could make an argument that your serve is the most improved
part of your game over the last year. Can you go into some detail
about when you really started working very seriously with your
serve and how it's developed over the last 12 months.
M: Uhm, I don't think ? I don't think my serve is as powerful as I
would like it to get yet. But I think that's not just going out
on the court and trying to serve big, bigger and bigger. I think,
you know, it's also going in the gym and working certain muscles
that will help you create a bigger serve.
But, you know, it's also very important to mix up the serve and,
you know, to place it well. And I think I do a better job of that
rather than have a huge serve. I don't serve, you know, consistently ?
you know, I don't serve like maybe 105 average first serve.
But I think it's more ? I think I still need to work on the consistency.
But I think it's always been about placement for me rather than a lot of
power.
Q. What is the feeling to walk out on Centre Court for you as champion and
how would you compare it to the feeling last year?
M: It was so amazing. I was just smiling. I usually don't smile when I go
out on the court. You know, the people are clapping. You're just taking
it all in. You're remembering last year. This is where, you know, magic
happened, I guess. So it was just really good to feel that again.
Q. Did you feel it was a comfortable enough victory for you today? Were you
happy with the way you played?
M: Yeah, first rounds you never know what to expect. You know, I played her
three weeks ago on clay. It was totally different, obviously. The pace of
the court here is a lot different. I think she struggled with that a
little bit.
But other than that, yeah, I mean, I can get a lot better from here
obviously. I did enough to win and, you know, pretty satisfied.
Q. I think your grunting may have reached record levels today. Do you think
you were particularly loud?
M: You always ask me the same questions (laughter). Like I told you already,
I don't pay attention to that, and I never have and probably never will.
Q. Can you talk about the difficulty in making a transition from clay to
grass? Not many players have been able to win both. Nadal and Justine
are coming in. Some people think Nadal doesn't have a chance. Can you
talk about why it's so difficult to make that transition.
M: Well, because they're absolute opposites, I mean, pace?wise, stability?
wise. The movement on the court is so different. On the clay, when you
move side to side, you know, you have to be able to grip yourself because
you're going to slide into the shot. And on grass ? and I think that's
one of the problems that players have is, you know, good players on clay,
they like the sliding, they like hitting their shot, they like sliding
into the shot. And then when they change to the grass court, you grip on
the grass, and you have to recover faster.
I feel better, you know, with the grip. I grip, and I feel like I recover
a lot faster. And also if you hit high angles on this court, basically
these angles are going to be like a short approach shot. And on clay
they're effective, you know, if you put more spin on them. But here they
just stand up and the point's over. And I think that's, you know ? if a
person likes to play defence, like Nadal, he has a much better chance on
clay obviously because clay, a big part of it is defence. And on grass I
think you have to start the point off well and you have to be in control
from the beginning of the point.
Q. You mentioned working out in the gym quite a lot. How intense has that
been to improve your strength and power this year?
M: Uhm, it's been ? it's been really important strength?wise and, uhm,
endurance?wise moving on the court. You know, I'm a tall girl and I
grew really fast in a short period of time, that was like two or three
years ago. But it took me a while to get used to my body. You know, I
still have to move a lot better. And, uhm, strength?wise, sometimes I
feel like my arm is like a swan's neck, it is so weak. But I'm getting
there. I'm working on it. You know, I'm trying to find as much time as
I can.
But, you know, it's hard during tournaments because you don't have a
lot of time if you're winning or if you're far into the tournament.
Q. It's shaping up to be an interesting women's tournament this year with
such good players. Would it mean more to you to win this tournament this
year with the calibre of players who it looks like you'll come up against?
M: Uhm, you know, without or with great players, I think it means a lot just
to win this Grand Slam. Obviously, the competition's very high, and that's
great because that's what the sport is all about. That's why I play, because
I love the competition. I love going out there and having a player, you
know, that has the weapons, that has a big serve, you know, whatever it
may be to beat me. And I love going out there and challenging myself, you
know, trying to compete and do the best I can.
Q. What is it like to play in gold?trimmed tennis sneakers?
M: Uhm, I just need some wings and I feel like I can fly off (laughter). It
feels good. They're great shoes. I've been getting a lot of compliments.
But everybody's offering me a safe these days.
Q. Did you check if any of the studs have fallen off?
M: No, no, they haven't. They're pretty secure.
Q. The last time you were on that court was the end of the tournament,
semi-finals and finals. It was a little different I would think from
today. It was pretty chewed up, was it?
M: No, it's greener, so it's a little more slippery.
Q. I mean, last year it was chewed up by the final.
M: Right. Oh, yeah, of course.
Q. You could sense a great difference?
M: Yeah, the first rounds of this tournament, it's usually a bit different.
The courts at Aorangi are, you know, different because everybody has been
practising on them for a week already, so they're very chewed up and the
ball bounces faster and there are a lot more weird bounces rather than on
Centre. There aren't as many bad bounces, but it's a little more slower
and more slippery.
Q. Do you think this year will be harder to win than last year? Everyone's
probably out to get you as defending champion and also it's maybe more
competitive.
M: Yeah, of course. Everyone's trying to beat the No. 2 player in the world.
It's absolutely normal. But I just go out there and no matter who I'm
playing, no matter how hungry they are to beat me, you know, on the other
side I want to beat them as well. So it's not like they're happy to go out
and play me, you know.
But I love the competition. I love when, you know, people want to beat me
or underestimate me. I love that because I love that challenge.
Q. There have been a lot of stories in the papers about the stalkers at
Wimbledon. I know you talked about the issue on Sunday. I wondered today
if it crossed your mind at all when you were on court?
M: No, not at all. It was the last thing I worried about.
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