THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: MONDAY, JUNE 16, NO. 33

The Maria Sharapova interview: Russian 16-year-old breaks out in Birmingham

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

Before 16-year-old Maria Sharapova went off to Europe, qualified for Roland Garros and stunned Elena Dementieva to reach the Birmingham semis, tennisreporters.net spoke to her via telephone about the state of her game and her future.

When we spoke, Sharapova – who had just won a USTA Challenger in Sea Island, Ga. – was finally feeling comfortable with her now very tall frame and rather large feet.

The 6-foot-tall clean-hitter will play for the World TeamTennis Newport Beach Breakers and does take some inspiration from her towering teammate Lindsay Davenport. Lindsay, along with Venus Williams, has proven that height can be an advantage on the tour. It's more than possible to be a good mover if you work diligently at it.

"It will be great to play with Lindsay," Sharapova said. "Her strokes are unbelievable. Her power, big serve … there's a lot to admire about her game."

However, earlier this year, Sharapova was frustrated with her progress.

Long, tall Maria
"I didn't feel like I belonged on court," she said. "My body wasn't prepared for the action and movement. I know it takes time, but it's not an easy process. Of course it's good to be tall, but it's hard to get through it."

Sharapova may not have stopped spouting up yet. Her doctor x-rayed her feet and said there's still room for her to grow, which she said "is not a pleasant sign." But in two years or so, should she reach 6-foot-2 and be able to crack first serves in the 120-mph range, she will be more than pleased.

Like her friend, Anastasia Myskina, Sharapova works with LA's Robert Lansdorp (Davenport's and Tracy Austin's former coach), who's terrific with teaching the fundamentals and instilling a killer instinct.

"Robert changed my game dramatically and has already been a big part of my career," Sharapova said. "Working with him has been great."

While World TeamTennis may be seen as a sideshow for some, it can do wonders for young players, even if they are brought in play in order to glamorize a team, like Anna Kournikova was this year for Kansas City, like Ashley Harkleroad was for Sacramento in 2002 and Sharapova was last year. But Sharapova isn't looking to be a Kourna-copy.

"I'm not trying to be the next Kournikova, I want to be the next Sharapova," she said.

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

In 2002, Sharapova's game improved a ton during the WTT season, as she was given the opportunity to play with big girls.

"Right after the season I won Vancouver and beat Laura Granville in the final, which was a big win for me," she said. "Even though I was tired after the season, I was still able to go out and win because of my time on the court improving my game."

The Russian likes the state of her groundstrokes but realizes that if she's to flourish on the WTA Tour, she needs to rid herself of her junior tendencies. "I've improved my serve a little," she said. "I have a pretty good all around game, a lot of power and can hit it pretty well with good placement. I need to work on my serve and volley and change it up a little. A little here and there make a big difference."

Before her European trip, Sharapova was ranked No. 146. Now, she's already hit her goal of cracking the top 100. But, for a child who was brought up living and breathing tennis, just being one of the anonymous pack won't be good enough.

"I'm not looking at rankings but looking at improving," she said. "I'm only 16, but this isn't where I want to peak. I want work on game and maybe in two years I'll get to my full potential and show what I can actually do."