Despite her early exit in the US Open, Maria Sharapova insisted she is far from done.
Sharapova said she was not discouraged by the crushing defeat at the hands old foe, Serena Williams, who manhandled her in the first round of the US Open, 6-1-6-1.
“Bottom line is I believe in my ability,” said the five-time Grand Slam winner during the post-game press conference.
“You can write me off. There are many people that can write me off, especially after going down 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open. As long as it’s not the person that’s inside of you, you’ll be OK,” she added.
The 32-year-old Russian said she is confident that she can recover after going through shoulder surgery.
“It’s not an easy road. It has never been. But I went through a shoulder procedure about four months ago. To find myself playing at a night match at the US Open with people excited about the matchup, it’s a pretty big deal,” said Sharapova.
Sharapova said she won’t allow the lopsided loss against Williams to affect her as he vowed to put in the much-needed work to return to her old for,.
“I’m fortunate to be a part of that. It’s easy to be discouraged after a match like this. But if I’m personally discouraged, I wake up tomorrow, I don’t feel like I want to go out, train, be better, that’s more discouraging than the result,” she added in the report.