There are three days left before the start of the US Open Tennis Championship. Most of the participants have already gathered in New York and are training on the legendary Flushing Meadows courts. Only those few players who are still engaged in the women's tournament in the Bronx and the men's in Winston-Salem are missing.
Maria Sharapova arrived at the last Grand Slam tournament of this season. She has already practiced with famous rivals several times, having tested including the main court. At the same time, the former first racket of the world is not limited only to sports events.
A gift for tennis fans was a photo shoot, which was arranged by the manufacturer of equipment Sharapova. In the picture posted on the Internet, the Russian tennis player poses with a dozen other well-known players, including her most important rival Serena Williams.
Girls lined up in a certain order. Williams has taken a place in the foreground as a multiple US Open champion. Behind her settled Sharapova, Sloan Stevens and Naomi Osaka, who won the tournament once. In the next row were Peter Kvitova and Simone Halep, who won titles in other majors. Finally, the rest of the tennis players, who have not yet achieved the same success, stood behind - Maria Sakkari, Arina Sobolenko, Elina Svitolina, Madison Keyes and Caroline Garcia.
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Squad goals đź‘Š #sportchangeseverything @nikecourt @nikewomen
Posted by Petra Kvitova (@ petra.kvitova) Aug 21, 2019 at 5:48 am PDT
At the same time, Sharapova gave more interviews to W Magazine. She called great experience in preparation for the US Open - for the 87th racket of the world, the current visit to New York was the 13th.
“US Open is always a big event. I have been playing for many years, and experience and knowledge always help me, especially in recent years. They accumulate with great difficulty and over time. Arriving in New York — no matter where — you feel something very exciting and very special. You feel the support of sports fans, you feel the energy. Athletes always say that the evening matches at the US Open are not comparable with anything, and I absolutely agree with this, ”said Sharapova.
The athlete gave advice to everyone who considers her their idol, and also told who she was guided in childhood in order to achieve success.
“I understand that many see me as a role model, but I try not to think about it, because at least I could advise: always strive to exceed your model. There are no ideal people, and the fact that not everything always goes on wonderfully and smoothly and you have to work on yourself brings its own flavor, ”said Sharapova.
“I looked up to my mother. She gave birth to me at a very young age, and a strong spiritual connection arose between us. In addition to dancing, she did not particularly engage in sports. She has greatly influenced my life, but more in terms of culture, education and family values. After I started traveling around the world, doing my own thing and working hard on my sporting achievements, she taught me many more lessons that I found application in my tennis career, ”the tennis player admitted.
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Posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) Aug 21, 2019 at 1:39 pm PDT
Sharapova said that although she is already older than many tennis colleagues, she feels confident. The world of social networks, with which she did not encounter in childhood, can not unsettle her either.
“I was the only child, my parents were always with me, as now. I was surrounded by protection, and social networks are the only thing that has changed since then. They can be useful, but it’s hard for the younger generation, because you not only constantly think about opinions, but also constantly work on content and show the world and your fans what you do, sometimes doing not what you want, but what others are expecting from you. Probably, this may be difficult, but in my youth I did not have to deal with this, of course, ”the athlete noted.
“Now I feel much more comfortable. I like to share information about myself. If I felt discomfort from this, I wouldn’t talk about anything. It probably comes with age. Now everything in life suits me much more. Everything: both my style, and what I say, and how I spend time. It’s not that wisdom is added - life experience, and the decisions you make, even slightly selfish, make you better, ”the Russian woman believes.
Finally, Sharapova told what advice she would give to herself in her youth.
“I would say that there will always be hard times, difficult periods; either you yourself or others will have certain expectations. But in the end, you will have to go through all these trials, because how you deal with them determines how you deal with everything else in your life, ”said the tennis player.
On the same day that the interview came out, the draw of the main US Open grid took place. She gave tennis fans an incredible duel - Sharapova will begin the campaign for the title from a meeting with Serena Williams. This will be their first game at Flushing Meadows, but the 22nd meeting between the athletes in all tournaments. 18 of them remained with the American.