When you start from nothing, when you come from nothing, it makes you hungry. I am proud of where I came from and I know what I want. I want to win.

I don't worry about what my opponent is doing.

Within a few years the name 'Maria Sharapova' will be a brand as universally recognized as Calvin Klein, BMW and Rolex.

Maybe if I was British, a semi-final would be incredible. I'd be on the front page of the paper.

I try not to hit a swing volley and run back. So my swing volley is kind of that transition to the net. It's been one of my favorite shots ever since I was young.

I had so many outs in my career. I could have said, I don’t need this. I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams. But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it’s freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn’t there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don’t listen to all those things.

I learned there's a big difference between juniors and the pros.