Rather unexpectedly yesterday, I found out that I'd have five minutes to talk with Maria Sharapova on behalf of Tennis Panorama. I have to say if I was planning to have five minutes with Maria, I wouldn't have necessarily have selected a chic Fifth Avenue boutique as a venue. Nor would I have invited in about 30 cameras, ten other reporters (and/or bloggers), various handlers, a couple hundred adoring fans or the WTA superstar's ATP pro boyfriend, who loomed about thirty feet away, largely unnoticed. Still, no complaints here.
While it's been a tumultuous summer filled with injuries, coaching intrigue and uncharacteristic losses on court for Sharapova, we found her to be quite calm in the center of the media frenzy that frankly, she must be used to by now as arguably the most famous female athlete in the world. The four-time major champion was amiable and not at all intimidating despite looking runway ready and matching my 6'3" height in her heels. Maria was in New York, obviously for the US Open which commences on Monday, but also to launch Sugarpova's second set, an accessory collection, in association with Henri Bendel New York. So, how did we spend our time together? Maria and I discussed working with brands (ed. note: my own day job), building Sugarpova, connecting with her fans and of course, her tennis summer leading up to the US Open. I'm done rambling, here's my interview with Maria Sharapova.
