From skinny kid to Wimbledon finalist, Sharapova has practised to
Independent, The (London), Jul 3, 2004 by Nick Bollettieri
WHEN I first set eyes on Maria Sharapova she was just a
skinny little kid. If she turned sideways you could barely
see her. But I knew there was a determination within, which
was extraordinary for such a little child.
初次見到她，她只是個瘦巴巴的孩子，轉到側面，你搞不好會看不到
她。但我知道她內心有股決心，對這樣的小孩子來說，那是很非比尋
常的特質。
She began her journey through our system at the IMG
Bollettieri Tennis Academy that I started in 1978, one of
175 students who are with us at any time, aged five right
up to full-time pros.
The kids have their individual training routines, with a
typical day being practice then schoolwork then practice,
then rest. Next day, same thing. They have social
opportunities - movies, shopping, all the usual - but even
from a young age the tennis was Maria's focus.
網球學院的孩子都有各自獨特的訓練規律，練習、寫作業、練習，然
後休息。隔天再做一樣的循環。他們有社交機會，可以看電影、購物
，跟一般孩子一樣。然而即使在那麼小的時候，網球就是 Maria 的
重心了。
What focus. She arrived speaking no English. She learnt in
four months. I probably knew she had the potential to be an
exceptional player by the age of 10. I recall her having
such focus and battling instincts even then.
她剛到美國時不會講英文，用四個月學會。我大概在她十歲時覺得她
有超群的潛力，現在回想起來，她甚至那時就有這超乎尋常的專注力
，以及戰鬥的本能。
By 12 or 13, she was mentally years ahead of every student
her age. The way she arrived at the practice court and was
already telling us where she needed to improve was amazing.
十二、三歲時，她在心理上的成熟度已經遠遠超乎同齡的學生。她到
練習場地的方式，準備好告訴我們她哪裡需要改進，都很令人驚奇。
Her father can take credit for that assurance within her.
If he'd been building a car he'd have taken advice from
BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, and built the best of the best. He
knew little about tennis at the start but he let us do our
job and he learnt from it and was always there encouraging
Maria to make the most of her opportunities.
她內心的自信，或許能歸功於父親。如果他要製造汽車，他會從 BMW
、賓士、凱迪拉克，這些最優秀的尋求建議。他剛開始對網球認知並
不多，但就是讓我們做我們的專業，然後從中學習，並且一直鼓勵
Maria 去實現自己的機會。
Nothing should be taken from her own drive and desire. I
recall sessions when she was as young as 14 or 15 when she
wanted perfection and would not stop until she had it.
她的動力與渴望是無庸置疑的。我記得她十四、五歲時，她想要尋求
完美，就會真的達到才停下來。
I've got a good friend who's a fighter pilot in the
American navy. He flies F-18s, and when they learn a new
manoeuvre they do it over and over again until it's inch
perfect. Maria is like a fighter pilot in practice. Over
and over, one thing at a time until she has it right. It
might be her cross-court forehand. It might be her serve.
She'll stay out there as long as it takes to get it right,
for hours and hours on end.
我有個在美國海軍當戰鬥機駕駛的朋友，他們學到一個策略時，就會
不斷不斷地練習，直到完美。Maria 練習時就像戰鬥機駕駛一樣。一
次又一次的，直到做對了。也許是正拍穿越球，也許是發球。她會留
在場上練到對，一小時接一小時。
That takes mental toughness, but then she's tougher
mentally than probably any girl on the tour. She has
incredible natural talent. She has mental toughness way
beyond her 17 years. She has an amazing mentor in her
father, Yuri, who has done everything in his power to help
his little girl become the No1 player in the world. But
make no mistake. Sharapova was made at the academy.
這是需要心理強度的，但她也許已經擁有堪比網壇多數女孩的心理強
度。她有不可思議的自然天賦，超乎十七歲的堅韌。父親 Yuri 是她
很棒的心靈導師，他就是盡一切努力讓自己的小女孩成為世界上最好
的球員。
We have produced and nurtured many champion tennis players,
such as Andre Agassi, who I had the privilege to be
coaching when he won Wimbledon in 1992. The Williams
sisters, Venus and Serena, have come to work with us on
many occasions. At one stage we had three future world No1s
- Agassi, Jim Courier and Monica Seles - training with us
at the same time.
But whereas Andre first arrived aged about 13, Courier at
14, and Venus and Serena when they were 10 or 11, Sharapova
was already a full-time student at the age of eight. She is
a true product of our system and hers is an amazing story.
Yuri scraped and saved so he could make the journey from
Siberia to America. He wanted the best tennis education in
the world and he picked the right place. We knew about
Maria because IMG have spies all over the world to tell us
about players.
我們出產過很多冠軍球員，但 Andre 大約十三歲來，Courier 是十四
歲來，大小威則是十、十一歲左右，Maria 八歲時已經是網球學院的
全時學生，所以完全是學院系統下的產品，而她有個很驚人的故事。
Yuri 盡一切努力讓他們從俄羅斯搬來美國，他想要最好的網球訓練
。IMG 則早早就讓我們認識 Maria。
We knew about Maria when she was seven or younger. Normally
with kids that young they come and work for a few weeks
only. We assess them. Maybe later they come back for a
month or two and then later enroll as boarding students.
Maria was good enough, special enough, to be with us
full-time by eight.
我們在她七歲甚至更小時就知道她了。通常年紀這麼小的孩子，剛
開始只會來幾週。也許之後會回來整個月，再之後才跟其他學生一
樣。因為 Maria 夠優秀，夠特別，她從八歲就跟我們做完整的訓練。
People often ask what she's like as a person, because
there's something of an impression that she's this ice
maiden. She does have ice in her veins. She's one heck of a
steely player. But she's also a friendly, sociable person,
with an air about herself of confidence in all situations.
大家常會問她是個怎樣的人，因為外在感覺她像是個冰山美人。她
確實有冷酷的特質，這是指在球員方面。但她也是個友善可親的人
，在任何情況下都有自信。
When she was little, she was something of a loner. Many
supreme athletes have that tendency. But don't fall for the
perception that she's still a loner, or without any other
interests in life. She picks her friends carefully, that's
all.
她小時候是常常偏愛獨處的，很多頂尖運動員有這種傾向。但別誤
會她現在還如此，或者對生活其他方面不感興趣。她只是很謹慎選
擇朋友，如此而已。
One of her best friends is a girl of about the same age
called Jessica Fisher. Jessica's from New York but lives
locally to the academy in Florida and does a bit of
training with us. She's a regular girl, very sweet, not
involved in the tennis tour. Maybe that's why Maria is
friends with her. Maria wouldn't want to be friends with
someone she then has to go out and beat on court. And she
wants to beat everyone.
她其中一個好朋友是紐約人，但偶爾會來跟我們練習。她不是職業
選手，也許那就是 Maria 能與她交朋友的原因。Maria 不想今天跟
某人很要好，明天卻得上場去擊敗對方─而她想擊敗所有的對手。
Her on-court attitude - screams included - show you that.
To dispel a myth, we never, never instruct anyone to grunt
or yell when they hit the ball. With Maria it's part of her
make-up. She's the real deal.
她場上的態度─包括叫聲─都展現了這點。要消除一個謠言，我們從
來沒建議過任何人在擊球時叫出來。對 Maria 來說，那就是構成她
的一部分。
Copyright 2004 Independent Newspapers UK Limited