Maria Sharapova Playing Quotations

I'm so excited to be here, to be one of the top eight girls, ... It's great to be playing where the (Los Angeles) Lakers play. You just feel the excitement. I know I went out there and played my game. I was on.

It will be really exciting playing Martina. I've never played her before. Obviously, it will be a tough match.

Every tournament I come into I want to win. I have been playing very good and I'm very confident. I don't think anything can stop me -- unless I lose!

He's so talented and just plays so loose. It seems like he's playing without any effort, plays always by instinct.

You're playing a great champion, someone that's obviously achieved a lot in her career. And she's still young. Any opponent that I see across the net, I cannot think about whether they're terrible or they're great. I can't put that in my mind.

She's playing pretty well to beat the No. 1 player. It will be my job to stop her.

I love playing in front of the New York City fans. But fighting New York City traffic is the worst.

That wasn't really a match for me. I was already in the semis, so I just wanted to save my energy. Obviously, she must be playing great tennis but I just need to go out there and step it up if I want to be in the semis.

I'm playing pretty well, but it is going to get tougher and tougher.

I haven't played a lot of matches, so I'm just trying to get used to the conditions, the stadium, the wind, playing under the lights for the first time in a while. When you're out for a little while, first match you're a little tentative. The injury, you don't know how it's going to be. So far it's OK.

I basically just tried to hang in there. I wasn't playing my best tennis, for sure, but I started to pick it up in the third.

I played really solid tennis. I played smart tennis. I took out her strengths. It's just exciting to beat someone that's playing such amazing tennis, especially after having a tough few months. I feel comfortable with the pace that I'm hitting and with the way I'm moving.

I played a good match, but I guess I was a little tired from yesterday. But I am happy with the way the season is shaping up and I am looking forward to playing her again.

You can be playing great tennis the past week, you come out and no matter how good you might have been playing, the level of tennis goes down the drain simply because of the wind.

I'm going to be busy these next several weeks rehabbing, training and getting healthy so that I can play my very best for myself, the fans, tournaments and sponsors in 2006. I tried my best to fight through my injuries during the season, but I now realize that I need to take some time off to rest my body and get back to being 100 percent healthy. I look forward to regaining my form and playing at the same highly competitive level that I have in the past. This has been such a disappointing year for me because I'm such a competitive person and I like to win for myself and for my fans.

It's never easy coming back after being a set up and then being up 3-1 and all of a sudden it becomes 3-all. You know, it's going to be a different match from there. But I guess I was playing the right way yesterday. When the rain started coming down, the conditions got a lot heavier. I was rushing it a little bit. I guess it was good just to have a good night's sleep.

Without playing great, without having a forehand or a serve, you win. The bad thing is I can't really hit a big serve and you feel like crap.

Without playing great, without having a forehand or a serve, you win, ... The bad thing is I can't really hit a big serve and you feel like crap.

Ive been playing against older and stronger competition my whole life. It has made me a better tennis player and able to play against this kind of level despite their strength and experience.

Obviously, I felt a little tired but that's normal after playing four straight weeks. I mean, I'm not gonna feel great. My body's not gonna feel great. That's absolutely normal. But I just have to give it all I had, and I tried. But, you know, at the end of the day, just come up short. That's all right.

Reaching the No. 1 ranking has been a lifelong goal of mine, and achieving it here in Los Angeles would have been a dream come true. I am eager to get back to feeling 100 percent healthy and playing as soon as possible.

Eight weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I was playing tennis again. So to be out here feeling healthy and being able to move and hit my shots, that part alone feels great to me, let alone actually playing well. So now all of a sudden I'm faced with the reality that I can actually go enjoy the Open this year because I'm doing a few things right, which is nice to feel. I like where I am right now.

I knew it was going to be tough. I came out hitting a lot of winners. I felt like I was playing great. After the second set, I didn't feel like I was there. I felt like I was making too many errors. I managed to get it back (in the third set).