Melanie Oudin wins again this time it is
over Nadia Petrova at the US Open 2009
Interview
with Maria Sharapova after her lost to Melanie Oudin at the 2009 US Open
Q. You're one of the all time
favorites in New York. What was it like to hear the crowd
not necessarily on your side?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think that's expected, considering
she's an American, up and coming, obviously having a good
win and winning two rounds. So it's totally expected for
the crowd to be with her.
Q. When did the arm start
getting really tired?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: It's just been an on going thing. I just
needed a little warmup out there.
Q. After Melanie beat Jelena
Jankovic in Wimbledon, Jelena Jankovic said she doesn't
have many weapons and she wasn't too impressed.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Shocking. Shocking that she said that.
Q. What are your thoughts about
Oudin's game?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I thought she played really well. I
thought she has many weapons. You know, she certainly
held her ground. I mean, you know, I still feel like I
had my chances, even though it wasn't my best day.
You know, when you let those chances go, it's just
frustrating. But, I mean, got to hand it to her. She
really stuck to her game plan. She played solid. She made
me hit a lot of balls. She moved really well around the
court, yeah.
Q. What was happening from your
side today? Very difficult serving. Was it the arm or the
toss or the motion or the sun?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, just couldn't decelerate today. I
was hitting second serves no less than 95 miles per hour.
I even tried to hit it less and I just couldn't.
Q. What sort of potential do you
think Oudin has?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think she has a great amount of
potential considering at her age to get to the fourth
round of the US Open and to beat Elena and come out and
play three sets against me and come out with a win and
still have an opportunity to go further in the
tournament.
Considering she's really young, I certainly think she has
a great future ahead of her.
Q. You've been talking all
summer how a comeback is a work in progress. Looked
pretty upset. Talk about your feelings in general.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, it's frustrating because you
work so hard to get to a certain point. You always want
to get better. I feel like I've had a good enough summer.
I probably could have definitely performed better. But,
yeah, just not the way things go sometimes.
Q. Not easy to break it down.
Your serving, was it purely a physical thing or was it
mentally, too?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, considering I couldn't hit a
second serve lower than 95 miles per hour, it's pretty
difficult, yeah.
Q. Do you think she's going to
go through what you went through before you won your
first major in terms of being that star on the rise? If
she is, what is that going to be like for her?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, she's off to a really good
start. You know, to be able to do it in great fashion
like that, you know, really step it up when she had to, I
certainly think she can go further, absolutely.
Q. What do you think her
greatest strengths are in her game?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, she moves really well. She has
a pretty good forehand as well. It's pretty solid and
deep. She's a good competitor.
Q. You've had many moments where
crowds have been behind you, supportive. What was it like
to play out there with 20,000 plus basically in Melanie's
camp?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, when I'm playing, I really try
to be within my own self and really concentrate on me. I
know I have the support of my team, the support of my
box. It's not surprising at all considering we're in New
York City and I'm playing an American. I don't see why
not.
Q. Is it a little tougher under
those conditions?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: No, no. That's certainly not why I lost
the match.
Q. How hard is it to stop the
serving problems going over into other aspects of your
game?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, during the match or just...
Q. Yes.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: In the future?
Q. When you're having trouble
like you were serving, how hard is it to hold onto your
groundstrokes?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: With the amount of errors I made
from both my groundstrokes and my serve, to be able to
get it to three sets is not bad. So if I didn't make
those errors, those double faults, I certainly would have
won the match.
So that gives me some confidence.
Q. How do you think her serve
will hold up when she gets up against some other tough
returners?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Are you saying I'm not a good
returner?
Q. I'm saying you had no problem
breaking her. What is going to happen when she gets
somebody who maybe holds easier than you?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I can't tell the future. I don't know.
I'm not in her mind or in her serve.
Q. As perhaps you were at 17,
can you sense or feel when a player has a presence of
mind or a real self belief out there on the court?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, I'm usually the type of player that
concentrates on me. You know, I certainly felt her
presence because she was getting a lot of balls back and
she made me hit a lot. She fought for it. She's a
competitor.
But did that lose me the match? Absolutely not, no.
Q. Can you consider the summer a
success now, or does this take a little bit out of it?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Uhm, I mean, it's a success in the
sense that I'm back out playing tennis and hitting a
tennis ball for a living. Not many people get to do that,
are not very fortunate.
You know, I'm lucky enough that I work that hard to get
back to being on the court and I have to work, if not
just as hard but harder, to get back to the top.
Q. There's been a lot of talk
about how some of the women in the game weren't mentally
tough, were cracking. Do you think it's good to see a
young name out there that obviously has a lot of guts?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah. I mean, I think there's a
difference between somebody that's pumping their fist
when they're winning a point or really grinding it out
when they're down and coming back from behind. When they
win a point, shout, yell, you know, pump their fist. But
I think it's definitely a good sign and good to see that
somebody can, you know, turn things around.
Q. She obviously has game. The
sport is about winning slams. Do you think she has the
potential to win a slam in the future?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, why not? I mean, I think with
experience and with playing many tournaments, being in
situations where she's playing those types of matches, in
big arenas and big crowds, they're going to give her the
confidence. They're going to give her the experience.
Considering her age, as well, I think she certainly has a
great amount of potential.
Q. She said she idolizes Justine
Henin. Do you see similarities or a potential to be a
player like her in Oudin's game?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, to start with, she doesn't have a
one handed backhand. I think that was Justine's really
great strength. She does slice occasionally and likes to
change it up.
I don't see too many similarities in their games. But
that doesn't mean that one is worse than the other. I
think every individual has a different type of game and
executes differently and has different game plans.
Other News on Maria
Interview with Melanie Oudin after
her win over Maria sharapova at the
2009 US Open
Maria Sharapova will play tomorrow night at
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Maria Sharapova wins her first round match
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Maria Sharapova will play tomorrow at the US
Open
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Elena Dementieva wins the Rogers Cup
Tournament in Toronto by defeating Maria Sharapova in 2
sets
Maria Sharapova moves on the final of the
Rogers Cup in Toronto by defeating Alisa Kleybanova
Maria Sharapova wins her match at the Rogers
Cup in Toronto over Agnieszka Radwanska
Maria Sharapova wins her match at the Rogers
Cup in Toronto over Vera Zvonareva
Maria Sharapova wins her first match at the
Rogers Cup in Toronto over Nadia Petrova
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