TNT Sports
Sharapova emerges
By
Published 28/06/2003 at 20:57 GMT+1
After dishing out a tennis lesson to 11th seed Jelena Dokic on Saturday, 16-year-old Russian sensation Maria Sharapova proved equally adept at handling the world's media. The teenager, who hails from industrial Siberia but now resides in Florida, is the d
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On Saturday, "the new Kournikova" fielded questions as easily as she dealt with the Dokic second serve in her 6-4 6-4 win. Ignoring the glare of publicity, the wildcard has only one thing on her mind.
"I enter every tournament to win it, that's my philosophy,"
she said.
"I can't go into a tournament thinking 'yeah, I'm gonna get my arse kicked today, so I might as well just leave'. But I am surprised, I'm 16 and in the fourth round, how odd is that?
"But you know, I know that all the hard work will pay off. I'm surprised yes, but it's reality."
Dokic knows that only too well after being given the run-around by an opponent four years her junior.
Sharapova walked out on court one determined to show there is substance behind the carefully managed IMG image.
Her forehand would have bothered better players than the unsettled Yugoslav while she also has a useful knack of playing her best tennis on the crucial points, particularly when saving break points.
"She just came out swinging and had nothing to lose," Dokic said. "If she can keep playing like that she will reach the top 10, but then she will have to stay there.
"Nobody knows how she plays yet, the test will come when she plays the Williams sisters and Kim (Clijsters) and Justine (Henin-Hardenne)."
Sharapova will now meet another of the Russian brigade, Svetlana Kuznetsova, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kuznetsova, 18 and on her first visit to the Wimbledon grass courts, beat Emilie Loit of France 6-1 6-2.
Dokic was quick to play down comparisons between Sharapova and her own arrival on the world stage in 1999 when she thrashed then-world number one Martina Hingis at Wimbledon.
"No, I beat the number one in the world. I beat one of the greatest in the game, that's a bit different," said Dokic.
While Dokic's mental strength is clearly shot, lack of confidence is unlikely to hinder Sharapova.
"When I stepped on court today I was like 'I'm not going to give her a chance today'" she said in her fluent English.
"I said 'I'm going to be a winner on this court today, right here, this moment.'"
It is a feeling she may well get quite used to in the years ahead -- if not right here, right now.
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