Victory signals new beginning for Sharapova

ROME, May 16 (Reuters) - Former world number one Maria Sharapova described her victory over Samantha Stosur at the Italian Open on Sunday as a new start.

“It’s a new journey. It’s not about me looking back and getting better or worse,” said the 24-year-old Russian who defeated Australian Stosur 6-2 6-4 in a one-sided final.

“This is about starting from the beginning and getting better than I was before and improving.

“I don’t think about how I played years ago. I’m not a 17-year-old girl anymore and the tour has changed with different players. You can’t rely on what you had in the past how you were in the past. You have to look to be better.”

Although the victory was her third on clay from a career total of 23, the Russian said she was confident going into Roland Garros. “It would be the most challenging grand slam for me to win but I accept challenges,” she said. “I love them and that’s why I’m a tennis player It would be wonderful to be able to achieve that. It’s just a coincidence I have won other grand slams.”

Sharapova, who took a long period off the circuit following surgery two years ago, said she kept to herself on the circuit.

“It is tough to have really good friends on the tour,” she said. “I find it difficult to be having dinner with someone one night and then having to play them two days later because it is at the end of the day an individual sport and we are all very competitive.

“It’s typical in sport to try to beat each other. You know we are not on a team and as far as really close friends goes I have my family who come with me on the road.

“I don’t hang around in the locker room - it’s my least favourite place in the world. I do my job at the site, I play matches do what I have to do and live my world away from the site and don’t talk tennis all day. It’s not in my best interests.”

Nadal says Djokovic run won’t last forever

Novak Djokovic is challenging Rafael Nadal for French Open favouritism but the world No.1 warned the Serb he’s still under pressure to deliver when it matters at Roland Garros.

Djokovic beat Nadal 6-4 6-4 in the Rome Masters final on Sunday to deny the Spaniard a sixth title in seven years and take his own winning streak to 37 matches this year.

It was the fourth time this season the Serbian has beaten Nadal in a Masters series final - the second time on clay in the space of eight days following his Madrid triumph.

With the French Open beginning on Sunday, Nadal faces the prospect of being rivalled for favouritism, even though he has won the grand slam event five times in six years and lost just one match ever in Paris.

But Nadal said he was focusing on improving his own game so that when the time comes, he will be the one ready to pounce.

“I’m there all the time, I’ve played in six straight finals, I’ve lost four (Miami, Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome; wins at Monte Carlo and Barcelona) but there is one player playing better than the rest, he is doing unbelievably,” said Nadal.

“In the last few months he’s been on a different level to the rest of the players.

“My goal is to be there next time. I have important personal satisfaction in how I’m doing this year, we’ll see in the future.

“This week was very positive for me, I finished the week playing much better than at the beginning.”

Having lost twice in a row to Djokovic on clay, Nadal said he is not worried that his aura of invincibility has been damaged.

It was only his eighth defeat in 201 matches on the surface in the past seven years and only his fourth loss in 31 claycourt finals.

“It doesn’t matter if people think I am more beatable than before,” Nadal said.

“The important thing is to be confident and happy with what I’m doing ... I can’t ask more of myself.

“One player is doing better than me. But being a big champion is not only about being able to win every week but when you are able to wait until the right moment.

“One player is winning almost everything, I’m second so let’s keep trying.

“That won’t continue like this forever because it’s impossible.”

However, Nadal acknowledged that it’s not easy to find a weakness in Djokovic’s game.

“He’s a complete player,” Nadal said. “He can do everything. He has all the shots.”

For his part, Djokovic insisted he had not displaced Nadal as the king of clay despite joining Gaston Gaudio (three times) and Roger Federer (twice) to have beaten the Spaniard more than once on the surface.

“He’s the king of clay,” Djokovic said. “He’s the best ever to play on this surface.

“Yes, I won two matches in the last eight days and that’s incredible for me, it gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the French Open.

“But it’s just two tournaments whereas he’s been so dominant for so many years.”

Djokovic’s 39th victory in a row dating back to last year’s Davis Cup final places the 23-year-old sixth on the all-time list of longest winning streaks.

If he wins the French Open, he will equal Guillermo Vilas’s record of 46 from 1977.

He is second only to John McEnroe in the list for the best winning start to a season and needs to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals to surpass the American’s 42-match mark from 1984.

“It’s an incredible honour to be a part of history in some way and to be a part of an elite of players like Federer, Nadal, McEnroe and (Ivan) Lendal, guys who have won so many in a row and then me,” Djokovic said.



“It makes me so proud and happy. I don’t know how much good it brings to tennis, but I’m happy there’s some other players than Rafa and Roger winning big events.



“It’s good for tennis, it makes it more interesting.”