‘But I also have opportunities to do things that make me happy. If you don't have that passion you are never going to be really successful. Things are always going to be a drag and pull you in so many directions when you are a 17-year-old who has won Wimbledon.'
Nine year old Sharapova used to practice non-stop for an hour and a half and would not even drink water.
Recently her long-time agent and business mentor Max Eisenbud has helped her launch Sugarpova, her own sweets. It was a dream she had four years ago to own something herself.
According to her mentorMaria is great at compartmentalising the tennis stuff and all the stuff off the court. She is going to be very successful in business when she is done playing.
Sharapova has suffered injuries and gone through dips in form. Yet her love of competing sees her address her on-court career with an ability to shut out distractions. Most of her friends are not in tennis. Some players meet someone for the first time and the next thing you know they are in their player box. But in there you want people who have been working with you in the trenches. She is firm about that.
In 2002 Maria reached Wimbledon junior final but lost. She was upset was thinking about the match and that she couldn't wait to be back and would really like to win it.
