This time it looks very serious. According to Russia’s tennis team captain, Shamil Tarpischev, Maria Sharapova is planning to play for Russia in 2008 Fed Cup. In an interview with dni.ru, he said:

“When Maria was here for the Fed Cup final, I had a discussion with her, her father, and her manager about Masha’s intentions to play for Russia in 2008. All of them are very positive about it. Sharapova has always wanted to play for our team, however the circumstances haven’t allowed her to do it yet. She is so serious about it that they are considering rescheduling her 2008 tour calendar. However, there are factors that we cannot control. For example, the first match with the Israeli team will be right after the Australian Open. Nobody knows in what condition Maria or any other female player of our team will be.”

Citing the current rules, Tarpischev noted that this time around Sharapova doesn’t have the luxury to pull out of the Fed Cup, if she really wants to participate in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Maria Sharapova is a huge international star and… a marketing machine. By winning an Olympic medal she will become even more popular in Russia and around the world. In many parts of the world, the Olympic medal remains the most prestigious achievement for an athlete.

While I was oversees, I had seen so many Sharapova ads that I had never seen them before in the U.S. market. If Maria plays for Russia in 2008, it would be a nice PR, marketing and professional career move.

It seems Maria understands it pretty well. In her online diary she says:

“Tennis is such an individual sport and you forget how great it is to be a ‘team-mate’ for a change. The girls did an amazing job of fighting it out from behind….nothing like a true Russian character! When Sveta [Kuznetsova] asked me to join them for their flag run around, it was the best moment I had this year on a tennis court. All of us represent our country on a daily basis, but representing it in a team environment, in front of a home crowd, is a completely different feeling…pretty difficult to describe…”

(Sources: dni.ru, onthebaseline.com, mariasharapova.com)
Maria Sharapova

Photo: Nadia Petrova showing Maria Sharapova her seat:-)

With the arrival of Maria Sharapova to Moscow to help the Russian tennis team win the Fed Cup, the Russian news services and blogosphere are very active on covering this big sport event. Here are some translated tidbits that might interest you.

• “I would give us 70 percent chance to win with only 30 for Italy,” said Svetlana Kuznetsova, #1 Russian tennis player (#2 in world.)
• Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev: “Sharapova is a normal person. We are in very good terms. We don’t pay attention to what media is saying about why she decided to join the team. “
• Tarpishchev: “The fact that Maria Sharopova has been training with Anna Chakvetadze speaks about the improved relationship between their fathers. [There was some kind of a feud going on between those two. However, I couldn’t find more info. Do you know what was the cause?]
• Tarpishchev: “There is no tension between Sharapova and Kuzentsova. It was the media that exaggerated Kuznetsova’s comments. They actually like each other.”

With three players in the top 10, Russia is favoured to beat defending champion Italy and win its third Fed Cup title this weekend. Second-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 8 Nadia Petrova will lead Russia along with Elena Vesnina in the best-of-series on indoor hard courts.

Source: Sport.ru

Strana.ru reports that on Tuesday Maria Sharapova arrived Moscow to join the Russian team for the 2007 Federation Cup final against Italy, but only as a spectator and practice partner.

In a TV interview with vesti.ru, Svetlana Kuznetsova was”mildly” surprised why she was there. “I know that Masha is coming, but to tell the truth I am not sure why she is coming. If she says she can’t play because of her injury, how is she going to practice with us? It doesn’t make sense. Anyway my job here is to get ready and do my best.” Kuznetsova is #2 ranked player in the world.

Shamil Tarpishchev, the captain of the Russian tennis team, says that despite the rumors, he has very good relationship with Sharapova, and her dad Yuri, and he is happy that she is there to support the team.

On her website, Russia’s former world No.1 Maria Sharapova gave her explanation: “Unfortunately Tarpishchev called me the day I was visiting a doctor in Toronto, who said the best way to get rid of that 20% nagging shoulder pain… is if I don’t put any impinging overhead pressure on it for the next three weeks. Which basically means I can’t hit anything over my head…The least I could do is fly over there and be their practice partner for the week and cheer them on from the stands.” Sharapova is currently ranked 4th in the WTA rating list.

Source: Ria Novsosti
Maria Sharapova