Maria Sharapova Refining Her Tennis Game
Russian Star Continues Successful Return from Shoulder Surgery
Jul 28, 2009
She's used to being on top of the women's tennis world, spending 17 weeks at No. 1 among her 238 consecutive weeks among the top 10. That all started to change in July of 2008, when Sharapova was forced to withdraw from her Round of 16 match against Japan's Ai Sugiyama in Montreal.
One year later nearly to the day, Sharapova beat Sugiyama, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1, in her first appearance in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University. She wasn't the same dominating player who has three Grand Slam titles of which to boast, including the 2008 Australian Open, but this was just her 15th match since a forced nine-month layoff due to the injury.
Maria Describes Her Effort
"Patchy," Sharapova said of her first match since losing in the second round at Wimbledon. "I thought I played solid. I was playing against a good opponent who forces you to play a lot of balls. I kept giving myself a chance and I'm thankful to get through."
The layoff cost Sharapova in the rankings, falling out of the top 10 in February for the first time in 4 1/2 years. She's ranked 62nd as she looks forward to a match against fellow Russian, the 10th-ranked Nadia Petrova.
Working to Get Her Groove Back
She doesn't think her match toughness is where it needs to be, and she's still learning to serve differently. These things take time, especially with such a strong-willed player like Sharapova.
"I'm a stubborn girl," she said. "I tend toward following a routine. Ever since my arm started feeling good I have been working on a few different motions, shorter motions. It's something I have to do the rest of my career to save my shoulder."
What's frustrating, she says, is missing easy shots or thinking too much.
"I'm missing shots I can hit in my sleep," she said. "When I start thinking so much, I contradict myself. It takes time to figure how exactly to do it; technically going out and performing. It's getting into position and seeing how it all feels."
Sugiyama a Tough Competitor
Sharapova hasn't lost a first round tournament match in nearly six years, but she was perilously close against Sugiyama. The 34-year-old veteran (she's won more matches than Sharapova has played) has taken Sharapova to three sets in three of their four career meetings.
"It's my style to fight for every single point," Sugiyama said. "She stepped up and played more aggressively. She hit the ball deep and I couldn't get into my game."
It was Sharapova's first visit to the San Francisco Bay Area and Stanford University. She was duly impressed.
"There were smart people all around me," she said. "I felt out of place. You'd think I'd get smarter having them surrounding me, but I wasn't smart enough to finish it off in the second set. But it's a quaint place and there's a Peet's Coffee, so I am happy."
As for returning to form, Sharapova said "I'm ready for whatever comes my way."
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