Maria Sharapova talks to Deuce! about Russia's Olympic bid and her tennis dreams...
Maria Sharapova has not been sitting around as she rehabilitates a shoulder that has kept her off the courts during the claycourt season. The glamorous but gritty world number two appeared at the Four Seasons Hotel in West Hollywood last week for a press event announcing her support for Russia's bid to host its first-ever Winter Olympic Games. Her hometown of Sochi is one of the three finalists in the running. The decision will be announced on July 4 in Guatemala.
NBC.com reporter Alan Abrahamson and I were the only two print reporters present and we were granted a joint sit-down interview with the 2004 Wimbledon champion and reigning U.S. Open champion who hopes to rejoin the tennis tour next week in Istanbul in order to prepare for the French Open.
"I lived in Sochi for five years," Maria told us. "I had to leave at seven [years old] because especially in the winter time, there were no facilities to train in. I remember hitting against the wall in winter, [wearing] fur and people would be thinking I was absolutely crazy but that was the only thing I could do to be able to train. I think having the Winter Games 2014 in Sochi, for aspiring young athletes, I think this will open up a whole new [world] for younger people who will be able to stay in Sochi and train."
Sharapova was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi when she was two years old and says that "is where my heart lies. It's an incredible city, I still have a lot of family there - my grandparents." Her role, she says, is raising awareness of the city and letting people know "how wonderful it is."
Sharapova did not play in the 2004 Olympics (won by Justine Henin) despite being the reigning Wimbledon champion. But she is hopeful about participating in the 2008 games: "As a young kid, I watched all the Olympics. I'd see all the athletes competing and I'd see the parade and all the athletes holding the flags and i would dream of being there with all the athletes, representing your country and representing your sport. That is definitely one of my goals, to be an Olympic athlete."
Sharapova made it to the final of the Australian Open this year and was ranked number one for a stretch. But a resurgent Serena Williams beat her badly Down Under then again in March at the Sony Ericcson tournament in Miami. But she is undaunted: "Tennis-wise, I've had a few injuries but I'm looking forward to starting again in a few weeks. The French Open and Wimbledon are always the main ones and at the U.S. Open, I'll be defending my title and hope that I'll be as successful as last year."
The tennis champ seems to have a good perspective on her sport and a self-belief that allows her to remain calm and focused despite all the hubbub around her and the expectatons: "I won my first grand slam at a very young age and my second one came two years later after everyone was asking when that was going to come. I was telling everyone to slow down, that it was going to take time but that I'm gonna get there. It was a very proud moment for my family and I."
But it's not all about tennis. This spring, sharapova donated $100,000 to start UN projects in Belarus, Ukraine and some parts of Russia and Siberia and will check the progress personally this summer because "I definitely want to see things with my own eyes.
'I get amazing opportunities in my life. I'm a U.N. ambassador and started my own foundation in August 2006 because I always wanted to work with kids and help them realize that are able to achieve their dreams. I had this crazy dream of winning Wimbledon when I young and who would have thought that it would be possible and at 17 years old, I won it. The kids who don't have the great opportunies in life, I want to tell them that it's possible."
"This is one of the most incredible careers I could have ever asked for," she adds. "To be a tennis player, to travel around the world, to do these things that I love but also be able to support the world and support my country where I came from, I don't think a lot of kids who are 20 years old have done that. I'm thrilled and definitely honored to be a part of such a cool thing."
Deuce! is about all things tennis - from the pro game down to the
local level. It is anchored by Daily News Staff Writer Greg Hernandez
who has profiled such players as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean
King, and the Bryan brothers. Greg is looking to complete the
spectator's grand slam with a visit to the Australian Open someday
soon. He has already been to Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S.
Open.