Forget padding Maria, just pass ice
Forget padding Maria, just pass ice 
From Jim Slater in New York
Former Australian Captain August 31, 2007
WATCHING Maria Sharapova’s curvacious figure hugged by a crystal-spangled red dress today (AEST), in a US Open second-round victory, it’s hard to imagine such beauty buried under ice hockey pads.
But the defending champion, who reached the third round by routing Australia’s Casey Dellacqua 6-1 6-0 in 51 minutes, said that in her youth she wanted to become a rhythmic gymnast or, gasp, an ice hockey player.
“It used to be when I was growing up, it was gymnastics,” said Sharapova.
“I always wanted to be a rhythmic gymnast - I grew a little too fast for that - and (play) hockey.”
Thankfully for pin-up fans around the world, the blonde glamour girl turned to tennis, and sparked a wave a support that has helped produce 10 Russian women among the final 32 players in the year’s last Grand Slam tournament.
“It’s incredible to see the growth of Russian tennis,” said Sharapova.
“In ‘04 I won Wimbledon and (Anastasia) Myskina won the French Open. From that point on the clubs were filling. The money was put into young prodigies.
“Now it’s basically all tennis.”
the No.2 seed especially adores the night matches that allow her to dazzle the audience, display her wardrobe line and dismantle opponents as well.
“It’s always special playing night matches. I always feel like I have to be extra focused and play better than I usually do,” said Sharapova.
“Night matches are always a little bit of a bigger motviation factor, especially here. You are treated like entertainers. You go on the court and feel like you have to perform well. You just want to do a good job of that.”
Courtside monitoring devices showed Sharapova smacked a 207.6k/ph serve during the match, which would equal the all-time fastest serve in a main-draw match in women’s tennis history, fired on Monday by Venus Williams in a first-round triumph.
But Sharapova said she never came close to such a powerful blast.
“It was definitely a mistake. I’ve never hit a 129 (m/ph) in my life, let alone on a second serve,” she said. “And it didn’t feel like a 129. Definitely wishful thinking.
“I don’t think I’m going to live to the point where I have a 129-m/ph serve.”
Sharapova will next face Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who pushed the Russian bombshell to three sets before losing a quarter-final at Instanbul in Sharapova’s second match after a six-week lay-off.
“We had a pretty tough match,” said Sharapova. “That was on clay and it was my first tournament back … this is a different match, a different tournament. I can’t worry about the past, just figure it out when I go out there.
“She’s pretty young,” the 20-year-old Russian said of the 18-year-old Pole. “She’s not going to have anything to lose. I’m just going to try to come out and do the same thing.”
That is essentially Sharapova’s motivation for the Flushing Meadows fortnight as she tries to relive her magical 2006 title run.
“I know how great it felt to win here,” she said. “You just want to have that same feeling again and repeat it.”
Reuters