Sharapova insists best is yet to come
Andrew Dent
Russia’s Maria Sharapova insisted the best was still ahead of her
despite a devastating Australian Open loss to exciting young Belarusian
Victoria Azarenka on Saturday.
The three-time grand slam winner went into the final full of
confidence against Azarenka, who was playing her first major title
match, but her game went to pieces for a 6-3, 6-0 loss in just 82
minutes.
Despite being only two years older than Azarenka at 24, Sharapova has
far more experience than Azarenka and has been playing on the big stages
since her teens and won Wimbledon in 2004 as a 17-year-old.
Greatest names
But with some of the greatest names in the sport watching on,
including Rod Laver and Margaret Court, it was Azarenka who played like
the veteran and Sharapova the nervous debutante.
“She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first
couple of games, and that was about it,” Sharapova said bluntly.
But Sharapova added that while she was disappointed at the heavy
loss, she was looking ahead to the rest of the year with optimism.
“Obviously to get to the final is a good achievement, but to end up
being the one that loses is always tough, no matter what sport you’re
in,” she said.
Finals
“But I’m proud of the fact that I made it this far. It’s been a few
years since I’ve been in the finals of the Australian Open.
“It’s a good start to the year for me. I have a lot to look forward
to this year.”
Sharapova won the last of her three grand slams in Melbourne in 2008,
before shoulder surgery later that year knocked her out of the sport for
nine months and set her career back on its heels.
“It’s frustrating, but I have a pretty good head on my shoulders in
terms of having a good perspective on sport and life,” she said. “And as
hard as it is and as much as you want to be the champion, there’s only
one.
“That’s why the feeling is so special when you do achieve that.
That’s why the work is so hard and extreme.
“That’s why the pleasure that you get and the excitement is what you
work for, because you know how special it is.”
She said those moments were the reason she had worked so hard on her
rehabilitation and on regaining her place among the elite.
“I don’t regret the work that I put in at all, getting to this stage
is great for me, especially not having played matches for three months,”
she said.
“I honestly didn’t know what to expect health-wise and game-wise. You
just don’t know.
“So to be at this stage is good for me. That’s why I’m looking
forward to the rest of the year.”
Surface
Sharapova’s best surface is grass and with the Olympics in London a
month after Wimbledon, she has a realistic chance of adding more titles
to her collection.
“Personally it’s something I’ve been looking forward towards for a
long time, and that’s a big goal of mine,” she said.
“To have a long grass season will be really fun.” AFP |