By MATTIAS KAREN
updated 12:32 p.m. ET June 25, 2011
WIMBLEDON, England - Maria Sharapova is used to watching her fiance play sports more than having him in the stands to support her.
With the roles reversed at Wimbledon ? where New Jersey Nets' Sasha Vujacic watched her get through the first week without dropping a set ? Sharapova thinks he, for once, has the tougher task.
"I think it's a lot easier to play. That's what I've learned. It's a lot tougher to be on the sidelines, or (watching) on TV," Sharapova said after defeating Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 Saturday in the third round. "I mean, there's no doubt that I've watched more basketball in the last couple of years than I have in all of my life, (and been) a lot more nervous in my life in those games that I've watched than I have been in my life."
The two are making up for lost time this summer, having spent more time apart after Vujacic was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Nets last season. But with the Nets missing the NBA playoffs, Vujacic traveled with Sharapova to Paris for the French Open last month.
On Saturday, he punctuated several of Sharapova's winners with shouts of "Bravo" and "Come on Maria."
While many players have their significant others traveling with them on tour throughout the year, Sharapova said being engaged to another world-class athlete has a different set of benefits.
"It's a different sport because (basketball) is a team sport, but at the end of the day, we're still athletes," she said. "We still have to put that amount of work in. There is that level of understanding of what it takes. ... Like that preparation of having a warmup in the morning, coming back for lunch, then taking a nap, I think anyone else would be, 'You're going to take a nap in the afternoon?' It's really nice in the beginning. It's like, 'Oh that's the way things work.' I don't even need to explain it."
Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004, and is looking for her fourth Grand Slam title overall ? but first since having shoulder surgery in 2008. While both Williams sisters having only recently returned from lengthy injury layoffs of their own, many see the Russian as one of the title favorites at the All England Club.
Despite an often erratic serve ? a recurring problem since her injury layoff ? Sharapova ousted Anna Chakvetadze of Russia and Laura Robson of Britain in straight sets in the first two rounds.
"I feel like it's getting better with every year (since the surgery)," Sharapova said. "I've gone with the flow of things. Even though in the beginning, when I came back, I thought you could just start from the beginning and feel like you could win everything.
"But at the end of the day you look back to that moment and you just know that it was going to take time. Obviously, I wished I could have gotten better results earlier when I came back, but it's just not the way things go."
The time together at tournaments is taking their relationship to a deeper level.
"You get to know a lot about the person by being with them every single day, which we hadn't really had in our whole relationship," Sharapova said. "So it's been really nice. We both enjoyed it.
"We're competitive, so we're doing everything in order for me to win tennis matches."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
No comments:
Post a Comment