WEBVTT - Maria Sharapova Bounces Back 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:07.520 I speak openly about in the book because it's a 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:10.480 huge part of of an athlete's career. And what what 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.680 happened to me was I mean, it was very difficult. 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:15.680 It's one of the toughest things that an athlete can 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.880 go through. Um, I've had shoulder surgery, I went through that. 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:21.520 I've been through my fair shares of ups and downs, 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:30.080 but this was a big hit. Hi, everyone, just me again. 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:32.519 I'm missing Brian too, but he will be back for 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.400 our next episode. It's hard to believe it is our 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.320 last show of two thousand and seventeen. I think a 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:42.040 lot of people are ready to say goodbye to this year. 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.760 I know I am. But one bright spot of my 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.440 year was getting to interview tennis player Maria Sharapova. We 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:50.839 take the Slide at the ninety Street Wye in New 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:54.400 York City. Maria is a five time Grand Slam winner, 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:58.360 and she's out with a new memoir called Unstoppable My 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.840 life so Far, so clearly she's got another book in 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.120 her with that title. She actually wrote her memoir during 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:08.319 the fifteen months she recently spent off the court. That's 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.240 how long she was suspended from tennis. I asked her 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:14.640 to explain how that happened, and we actually started by 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.840 talking about what it was like to come back. Meanwhile, 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.040 in August, I was in the crowd at Maria's first 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.280 US Open match since her suspension was lifted, and I 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:26.479 wanted to know what was that night like for her. 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.080 How did it feel when she walked into Arthur Ash 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:32.520 Stadium in Queen's to play for a sold out crowd. 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.600 I walked into a lot of unknown that night, and 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:46.240 it was very different to what I would usually feel 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.320 going into a first round match at a tournament. I 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.280 felt like there's a lot on the line and that 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.880 match from the moment that the draw came out and 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:56.480 I saw that I'd be facing as a wild card, 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:58.800 the number two player in the world. Once I knew 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.040 I'd be facing against her, not only was I playing 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.120 in the US Open after not competing there for a 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:06.400 few years, I was going to play against Simona Hallip 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.840 and just feeling Arthur Ash Stadium kind of seeing pun 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.560 played under like the roof environment, even though the roof 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.240 was opened, but the new structure of the court, it 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:18.280 just seemed like almost like a new tournament to me 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:20.720 because it had been so long. It was very exciting. 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:24.600 It was a long match. I was two hours and 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:29.680 forty four minutes. But who's counting? I am, but I 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.320 have to say it was I'm counting the day after 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.080 when I'm like, oh, I feel as part of my body. 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.560 I was supposed to finish that in two cents. Yeah, 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.320 and you must you must have been exhausted. But I 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.200 mean I know that after the match, and I was 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.320 very excited to be there that night, so especially knowing 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.040 I was going to interview you, So that was a 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.240 real added extra for me. But if you told the 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:55.040 crowd quote behind all these I always have a hard 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:57.560 time saying that word. I think it's were thank you 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.639 crystals and little black dresses. This earl has a lot 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:04.239 of grit and she's not going anywhere. Was this redemption 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.800 in many ways for you? It just felt like this 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.920 is where I belonged, and I knew that I wanted 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.000 to get back to that stage and it um remember 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.280 leaving the courts and it was probably was past midnight 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.399 at the time when I did the press conference after 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:22.000 and I got back to the hotel room and I 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.280 was I was in the room by one am. Had 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.519 to go through a little massage um sports, massage, a 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.200 few other things. So you end up going to bet 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:31.440 at like three am. But I just I didn't want 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.560 to sleep, like I didn't want that evening or that 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:35.840 feeling to end. I didn't want to start another day 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:39.080 because I feel like I had so many of those um, 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.600 you know, match memories to relive. Still, you made it 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:47.080 to the fourth round, you lost to Anastasia Sevastova vlat 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:52.920 M three sets. I know you're uber competitive, duh, understatement 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.080 of the century, but how upset were you with that 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.680 loss and and the fact that you weren't going to 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.240 go on. I certainly don't leave that court and say, oh, 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.840 I'm okay with this. Definitely not. And you always have 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.880 these expectations from yourself because you know what you're capable of, 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.440 you know what you've the tennis that you've produced there 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:13.200 over the years, and you know you can and you 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.080 know everyone's watching and you want to and so it 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.039 adds to that that extra pressure, which I love. But 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.240 I wasn't. I wasn't satisfied, and I shouldn't be like 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.039 that's I shouldn't be satisfied with a forethrown exit. And 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:27.560 I guess before a match you must envision what. I 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:29.560 don't know if you do this, but I would if 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.320 I were you, what it would be like if you want, 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:35.200 you know what that moment would feel like, because it 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.279 gives you something to aspire to, and so when it 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:41.600 doesn't happen, you really have to kind of do a 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:47.240 serious formulive visualization. Yeah, I definitely do that. I prefer 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:50.200 that to like setting certain goals for myself. I think 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:53.800 it's just it's not about a particular ending, like that's 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:55.760 not the way that I look at things. But I 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:59.320 certainly visualize what success feels like to me, and I 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.760 see it and I understand it and I feel it. Um. 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:04.960 I think that's really important. And what does it feel 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:07.320 like for you when you visualize? What do you say, though? 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:09.800 What do you see? Do you see? Uh? You know? 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.680 I mean, do you imagine something in your mind's eye? Yeah? 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.880 I think for me, happiness is really internal. It's not 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:19.640 something that is most of the time seen in photographs 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.600 are told in words. I think there's something much deeper. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.120 It's not something that anyone will be able to say, oh, well, 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:28.119 now I saw that that she was happy, of course, 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:31.360 like the emotion of winning that match. That was amazing, 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.400 and that was happiness, and that brought so much to 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:35.640 I mean, I think you you can't act that out 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.480 like that. That's the way I really felt in that moment. 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:41.839 Let's let's talk about something that I know you've been 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:45.520 asked about a lot, and certainly by journalists as you've 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:49.039 been out promoting your book. Um, and it's it's really 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.920 what you start off with in your prologue, the first sentences. 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.559 At some point towards the end of the two thousand 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:58.560 sixteen Australian Open, a nurse asked me to pee in 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:05.520 a cup. That's a good thought. My first memoir would 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.920 start with the words p and the cup. But but but, 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:11.840 of course, of course that that leads to the whole 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:16.279 story of your suspension and why you were taking meldonium, 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.920 which has the trade name of Meldreny, on a daily 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:23.120 basis for for ten years. It was put on the 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:27.560 band's substance list in two thousand fift September, and when 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.400 that band went into effect in January, of course you 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.000 tested positive. You know, In preparing for this interview, I 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:38.359 spoke with Billy jan King, who really admires you deeply, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.839 and she said, quote, you know, I'm still scratching my 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.240 head over this. I just don't understand how this could happen. 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:53.400 She described Maria as someone extremely exceedingly professional and exceedingly precise. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.320 And I know you've talked about this, but Billy Jing 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.359 King still doesn't get it. So can you help her 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:07.920 and us out and explain explain how this happened? Um, 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.239 in so many ways, if I would, if it would 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.960 feel like I would be going backwards and starting from 0:07:14.000 --> 0:07:17.440 from scratch. And I it's still a question that I 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.920 occasionally do ask myself, and I asked myself for a 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:24.200 long period of time after I received that notice. It 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:26.160 wasn't I didn't want to go back. I didn't want 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.000 to rewind. And I am I'm very much to talk 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:31.800 about it when I do, and but I am someone 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:36.520 that wants to learn for my mistakes. But in this situation, UM, 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:41.520 when you're taking something legally for numerous amount of years, 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:46.920 that is a common supplement in Russia, used by thousands 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:50.040 of people and including my grandmother, which is I mean, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.520 I can laugh about it now. It wasn't funny at 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:57.520 the time, but it's just such an odd and very 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:00.920 odd thing that it all of a sudden becomes banned 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.360 and I'm not aware of it, and no one around me, 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:07.840 whether it's myself, my team, the organization's let me know. 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:12.000 I think what was really frustrating was it could have 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.480 been avoided so easily if I would have known. You know, 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.440 it does seem surprising though by all accounts, you have 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.920 this incredible team around you that are you know, people 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:26.320 focused on your success as a professional athlete, and it 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:31.080 does beg the question. I mean, did somebody literally drop 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:34.840 the ball on this and if so, a who was responsible? 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.800 Because you contend that your agents and trainers missed the 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.240 various I t F notifications of this being added to 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:44.280 the band A substance list, And if in fact someone 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:47.200 did drop the ball, were there any repercussions for that? 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:51.360 And because I know you kept your entire team around, 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:55.560 I think the biggest um, the biggest problem was this 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.320 sense of complacency in a system that I had for 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.280 a long time. And I started that by saying from 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:05.080 my end as well, because as I said, from the 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:09.280 very beginning, as an athlete, you take responsibility. It's not 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:12.000 your coach, it's not it's not a manager, it's not 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:15.880 your your parents, it's your it's your career, it's your life, 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.440 it's your body. And yeah, I was also interested in 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.320 the fact that you didn't disclose this because I talked 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:25.960 to some other players. We worked very hard preparing for interview, 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:30.560 and one professional player said, you know their disclosure forms, 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.679 and he said, I'm so paranoid or I was so 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.960 paranoid when I played that I would even put violin 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:40.960 c on that on that list, And and so why 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:44.720 didn't you just write it down and claim a therapeutic exemption. Ye. So, 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.400 for for all the years that I was doing these forms, 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:50.200 I was writing down, as it's said in the instructions, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.400 the medicines are supplements that you were supposed to write 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.560 down for the past seven days. So everything that I 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.160 was taking continuously every single day for the past seven days, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.600 I would write down. And this was not something that 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:05.120 I took every single day. So I know one of 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:09.720 the benefits is increased exercise cardiovascular capacity. Now that you're 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:13.400 not taking it, did you notice any ill effects on 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.360 your performance, because it's at one point you said you 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.800 would look for a substitute, a replacement that wasn't on 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:23.080 the band list. Did you find that I constantly have 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.320 to get check ups. I constantly have to go to 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:28.360 the doctor. UM. I get regular e KG is a 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:32.240 lot more than than other people would UM. As you 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:36.440 can imagine, I'm very detail oriented. After this happened, and 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.720 and so did you find a replacement? UM, it's something 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.360 that I don't want to talk about. It's just not 0:10:42.520 --> 0:10:45.520 something when we speak about doctors. I think it will 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:49.000 open up more conversation and more questions. And I think 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.320 from the very beginning, I think it's important, UM, you know, 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:55.560 to speak about what had happened openly and honestly, and 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.080 to move on from it. Let's let's talk about your 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.960 time away from tennis. That fifteen months down from the 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:05.520 original two year verdict allowed you to do some things 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.680 that you hadn't done before. I think you must have 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:12.840 had a really interesting experience. You took summer classes at 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:16.000 Harvard Business School, You interned for a few days at 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:19.520 the NBA. You followed around a commissioner, Adam Silver through 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.640 his daily activities. You wrote this book. Why did you 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.319 want to do some of those things? I think because 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.439 it was the first time really in my career where 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:30.040 I had time. It just gave me time. It gave 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:32.600 me the freedom to do what I wanted to do, 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.480 to grow as a person, um, and also to take 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.160 my mind off of what was going on. I went 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:40.040 to school for a few weeks and just to be 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.040 in an environment with people that I didn't really care 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.840 about my problems, had problems of their own, but we 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.360 all had a similar understanding of why we were there. 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:52.040 We wanted to learn um doing the internships. UM. You know, 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:54.840 as you said, dam Silver, I've always admired his work, 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.960 just his professionalism and leadership, and I think the NBA 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:01.880 has done, out of all sports, is just an incredible 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:06.400 showcase of putting athletes and teams and business together and 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:10.040 creating a great product. So I wanted to learn from him. 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:11.920 I went to Nike for a few days in Portland 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:14.440 to shadowed a few people, So it was a mix 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.560 of things, but more importantly, it gave me a chance 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:20.080 to to be around the people that I wanted, that 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:21.760 I care about, and that I wanted to be with 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.080 during that period of time. You still trained. When I 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.080 talked to Billy Jean, she said, I'd like to drop 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.440 Billy Jane King's name like Billy Jane and I, but 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:37.720 we're like that, well that we should she's incredible. She's yeah, 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.080 she's an amazing But she talked about how tough it 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:42.560 was to go back and and to play at the 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:47.480 US Open after not playing competitive tennis or you know 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.040 that kind of tennis for that period of time. It's hard. Yeah, 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.000 It's the one thing is you can never replicate a 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:56.880 competitive match. It's just not. You can do all the 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:00.959 training in the world, and I spend time doing yoga 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.680 and boxing and hiking and all the things I really 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.360 didn't have time for because my training was very different 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:09.240 from that. And all of a sudden, I find myself 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.360 in an indoor cycling class with music. I was like, oh, 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:16.679 this is this is new. I was like, wow, I 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:20.600 didn't know that the training could be like dancing and fun. 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.000 And then you go into class and it's like you 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.080 go from zero to like waking up, like coffee in hand. 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:29.560 A lot of women would walk in with their coffees 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:31.240 and then all of a sudden, their heart rates like 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.880 one sixty. I was like, wait, where's the warm up? 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.679 I was like, I'm like thinking, where they're going to 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:41.800 hurt themselves? Um, But it was very actually impressive. I 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:45.559 gained this whole new appreciation of this like work active 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.040 family balance that people have. I mean, I'm fortunate enough 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.160 to work out for a living, and while I was 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.120 doing these internships and studying, I knew that I had to, 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:58.240 like at least be in somewhat of a good shape. 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.679 But I would come back. Let's talk about your workout routine, 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:05.679 because you mentioned I mean, and I watched a documentary 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.240 about you that some friends of mine did, Lisa and 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:11.960 Nancy Lax and they're great, and uh, you know, it 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.959 showed you working out and I thought, God, how how 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.079 do you do that day in and day out? Take 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.840 us through sort of quickly your routine and what you 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:23.840 do and how you mix it up. It really depends 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:27.080 on whether I'm getting ready for a tournament, or if 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:31.000 I'm in the off season, or if I'm in a 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:34.040 time and place where I just need to maintain UM. 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.000 The off season is probably the toughest training block of 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.840 the year for me, and it just it's physical, it's grueling, 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:44.880 it's long hours I do. I spend probably three hours 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:48.200 in the gym and on the track. UM. But a 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.520 lot of the focus and what I've tried to focus 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.000 on is be very ton of specific because you can't replicate. 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:57.000 And I don't know what it's like in other sports, 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.720 but you really can't replicate tennis in any their environment. 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:03.800 So how many hours would you say you spend a day? 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:09.680 Like five to six? Oh God, that sounds awful. I 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.800 don't know, do you? I mean, do you ever? I 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.960 will say, though, it is a lot better. As I've 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.440 been doing this book during the last couple of days, 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.840 that's been like fifteen hour days. I've I was like, 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:29.080 I'd rather play tennis for twelve I'd rather made me 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:32.480 run side to side for twelve hours. Like, I don't know, 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:36.520 there's just something about talking endlessly that's very difficult, Like 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.200 I'd rather just be playing and focused and running and 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:46.400 physical because it's just what I know best. We finished 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.840 our first set, so we're going to take a quick break. 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:52.080 I'll be back with Maria Sharapova to talk more tennis 0:15:52.480 --> 0:16:03.880 and even a little Vladimir Putin. Now back to my 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:09.240 conversation with Maria Scherifova. You know, I know that you 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.920 write in your book that you were really never into 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:16.160 making friends in the world of tennis, and in fact, 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:20.160 you called friendships among competitors tour friendships and a phony 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.040 show for the press. Do you ever feel as if 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.480 Maria you missed out or is that just not your 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.120 jam to kind of get to know people. I'm so 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:31.680 hip to get to know you know. I saw using 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:34.040 Instagram before we went on here. I was like, I'm 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:37.280 really impressed with your skills. You can't teach an old 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.000 doc Patrick. But I mean, do you feel in a 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.560 way that, Gosh, when you see someone like like Sloan 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:48.280 and Madison embracing and having that extraordinary bond, do you 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:50.320 feel like, gee, I wish I could have had that? 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.840 In some ways, yeah, I respect that it's not the 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.600 way that I grew up because I I came to 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:02.040 America as an immigrant, and I spent the first many 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.199 years being you know, someone at the academy that was 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.800 much younger than everyone else, that was really on a 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:13.640 different mission than everyone else. Um that weren't as competitive, 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:17.200 that weren't as driven as I was, had different goals 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:20.520 and visions for their lives and um, and I was 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.600 always someone that was beating girls and boys that were 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.240 older than I was, so in a way, they didn't 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:30.000 like me for that, and I felt that I felt 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.720 that energy and um and I wanted to to beat 0:17:32.760 --> 0:17:34.879 them even more, and so I think, do you lose 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:36.840 your edge a little when you do? Do you ever 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:38.760 feel like you lose your edge if you get too 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.960 close to your competitors. Yeah, I do, I really do, 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:43.920 And I think I speak a lot about that in 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.359 in the book. You know, I didn't have any siblings. 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.399 It was just me, and I wasn't around my parents 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.520 very often the first few years in America, so it 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:55.040 was really me and the tennis racket and the ball 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.160 and the coaches that were around me trying to make 0:17:57.200 --> 0:18:00.440 me a better tennis player. So it was an absolute 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:02.720 lonely time and I had to I had to deal 0:18:02.800 --> 0:18:05.200 with that, and I had to, like, I really did 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:08.000 feel isolated from from the rest. You know, a lot 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.680 of attention has been given to some of the stuff 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:13.639 that you wrote about Serena um who's been out of 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:15.680 tennis herself for a few months. She just had a 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:20.920 baby girl named Alexis So mozl mozzle Serena. I hear 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.920 Eric the ninety street Wise say, mozle um. So your 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.720 record against her is two wins and nineteen losses. But 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.320 you beat her in the Wimbledon finals in July of 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.840 two thousand four. Of course, as you remember, you were 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.680 just seventeen years old at the time, was your first 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.600 Grand Slam. And in the book you write about hearing 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:43.240 quote guttural sobs when you came to the locker room 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:47.600 after the awards ceremony. Serena Williams was bawling and she 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.280 didn't see you, but you write that she knew you 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.160 were there, and you continue, I'm going to read an excerpt. 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:56.560 I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.560 who beat her against all odds at Wimbledon. I think 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.960 she hate me for taking something that she believed belonged 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:05.720 to her. I think she hated me for seeing her 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:09.040 at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:12.680 me for seeing her cry. She's never forgiven me for it. 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.560 End quote. Now, not long after the tournament, you also 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.320 write someone told you they heard Serena say quote, I 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:25.800 will never lose to that little bitch again. So just 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:34.520 very much true. Yeah, so, so I guess she got her. 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.160 So but why why do you think it was important 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.720 for you to include that in your book, Because I 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.560 know you've come under some criticism and the things that 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:49.399 you've written about her well, I think it was important 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:56.880 to share my experiences playing against her. And I've read 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.200 a lot of memoirs written by athletes, and there are 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:04.399 many instances where they don't speak about their rivals, and 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:07.919 they don't speak about the matchups. And I think it 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:11.000 would have been very odd if I did not include 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.160 Serena in my book, because I mean, that is who 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:16.560 I faced in my first Grand Slam final. And it 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:20.000 didn't even begin there as I as I started before. 0:20:20.160 --> 0:20:23.359 It began as a thirteen year old girl practicing at 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:28.240 the Nick Bolitary Academy and really witnessing her presence with 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:31.680 her sister and her father, practicing in front of hundreds 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:35.200 of kids that were looking at her um watching her 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:38.080 every move, seeing her focus in her drive, and what 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.760 she was able to to do on the tennis court. 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.520 I mean, I was watching like the next twenty five 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:46.119 years of my life, like just in front of my eyes. 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:48.919 Later to find out that just in a few years 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.520 and four years, almost as if someone took me and 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.520 put me in the in my television screen and said, 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:57.920 there you are, You're going to be facing Serena Williams 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:02.080 and it's the Wimbledon final. And I didn't belong in 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.280 that situation. I wasn't nearly ready to compete against her 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:08.600 at that stage. It was it was really a miracle 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.880 that I found myself playing against her then. And so 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:16.640 when describing Serena Um and describing her physicality and how 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:20.480 intimidating Um she was across the net, this is coming 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:23.560 from someone that is seventeen years old, that was not 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.560 as tall as I am today, that was far from 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:30.280 being strong or experienced or ready to be in that position, 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:33.760 and yet finding a way to win, and also noticing 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:36.960 how I was the one that had nothing to lose 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:40.800 in that match, and noticing that she had all the 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.800 pressure to win that match where actually should be the 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.199 other way around. I mean, she's already accomplished. She's a 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:50.560 two time defending champion at Wimbledon that year. She's done it, 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.280 she's been there. I'm the one that has to prove myself, 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:55.960 and yet I find myself in a position where I 0:21:56.000 --> 0:21:58.560 feel that there was a lot more on the line 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:01.240 for her. So it was important to share that in 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:03.480 the In the moment that I speak about in the 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:06.920 locker room, I mean that's it's an intimate moment that 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:09.679 we share it's an individual sport. Towards the end of 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:12.639 a tournament, I mean we're all sharing a locker room together. 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:15.000 I mean you could be facing an opponent and have 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:17.280 a locker room that's right next to each other. You're 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:19.600