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Sharapova bids to add Dubai tennis title |
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2/22/2006 7:40:54 AM |
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DUBAI — Maria Sharapova will carry a secret to Dubai when she takes part in the $1,000,000 Dubai Tennis Championships for the first time on Monday.
The 18-year old Russian, who arrived in Dubai last night ready for the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open, has won a whole basket of titles, including Wimbledon in 2004, playing right-handed. But watch her carefully, and you might see her switch hands as she tackles Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, and Justine Henin-Hardenne when play gets underway at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.
“I’m naturally a lefty,” she revealed recently in Melbourne, where she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open. “So I do practice it once in a while, just to kind of balance it off. I do a lot of things lefty. I write with my right hand, but I throw and I kick with my left hand and my left foot.
“When I was younger, I played a little bit more left handed. I played lefty for about a year or something when I was 10, 11, then I played a little bit both hands. Then I went back to right handed. I actually was at a point where I didn’t know if I was going to play left or right or both hands. Even now, if I feel comfortable enough to hit a lefty and I feel like I’m in the right position to do it, yeah, I’m confident that I can make it.”
While a great deal of interest will focus on Maria as she bids to add the Dubai title to her list of achievements, she feels she is under no pressure at all to live up to the expectations others have of her.
“I have never, ever in my career felt like I had anything to prove to anyone, now even more so,” said Sharapova. “I mean, I became number one last year and I won a Grand Slam at 17. So I never felt like I needed to prove anything.”
Maria had a fantastic 2005, building on her Wimbledon victory and climbing to the top of the rankings.
“Having Maria compete in our tournament shows just how popular this event has become with the top players in the world,” said Colm McLoughlin, managing director of Dubai Duty Free, owners and organisers of the event.
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