[新聞]Age of innocence is over for Maria

看板Sharapova作者jcshie (JCJCJCJC)時間18年前 (2007/06/23 15:16)推噓2(2推 0噓 0→)

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因為太多、新聞也很多篇，只稍微擷取引言翻囉。 Naturally, when Maria Sharapova took the call on her mobile phone to inform her that Wimbledon would be paying equal prize-money to women this summer, she was out shopping. That was probably about the only news which would have dragged her from the boutiques. The 20-year-old Russian earns more cash than any other sportswoman on the planet, and so she had not been bothered by the money, just by the principle. It is 123 years since the first women's champion received a silver flower basket valued at 20 guineas, while the men's winner was given a gold prize worth some 10 guineas more. But this summer there will be full parity of pay for the first time, headlined by the ￡700,000 prize for both the men's and the women's champions, and the 2004 winner said this has confirmed Wimbledon's status as "my centre of tennis". Even money: Sharapova praises newfound equality "It had seemed as though we had been fighting and fighting the whole time for equal pay, and we had been ready to fight for it again this year. But we've got it now, which I heard when I was shopping, so we don't have to fight for it anymore," said Sharapova, the world No 2 for tennis, but probably the world No 1 for shopping. "It's going to make Wimbledon even more special for me. They are treating us as equals. It has definitely always been a special place for me. For me, it is the centre of tennis, and so I'm especially thrilled that we will be earning the same money as the men. It's amazing. It's so exciting. I'm so thrilled about it." “我們似乎一直都在爭取平等獎金，今年也準備這麼做。但現在得到了，我在逛街時聽到的，現在我們不用爭了。那讓溫網對我來說更特別了。他們平等的對待我們。溫網對我來說一直是個特別的地方。對我來說，這裡是網球的中心，所以得知平等獎金的事情會特別興奮。很不可思議、很令人開心，我真的很高興。” Little wonder. It was Wimbledon that made her. Aged 17, she defeated Serena Williams to lift her first grand slam title and a victory that presented her with the sort of endorsement contracts which would have allowed her, had she wished, to have bought millions of silver flower baskets. "I love coming back to Wimbledon, as this is where my career kind of started. But it had always been my favourite grand slam, ever since I was a junior," she said, and that was certainly not just talk to woo her British tennis public; she meant it. “我喜歡回來溫布頓，這是我生涯某個層面的起點。但溫網本來就是我最愛的大滿貫比賽，從青少女時期就是了。” "The craziest thing about winning the Wimbledon title was that I never expected it to happen. After each of the early rounds, I was thinking to myself, 'well, okay, now I'm probably supposed to go home'. And then after another round and then another round, I was thinking, 'now, I really have to go home'. After each match, I really could not believe that I was still in the tournament. So, after winning the final, it really took a while for me to believe that I had done it," she said. “溫網奪冠最瘋狂的就是我沒料到會發生。前幾輪之後，我都會想說‘好吧，現在我大概該回家了’，然而卻一輪又一輪的打下去。每場比賽完，我真的都難以相信自己還在比賽。所以，奪冠之後，真的花了好一段時間去相信自己做到了。” "When I won my second grand slam, at the US Open last year, I truly believed it. I knew that I had been ready to win it, that I was physically and mentally ready to win another grand slam. I had worked really hard for it. But when I arrived at Wimbledon in 2004, I just never thought I was ready to do that. I've watched bits and pieces of that match on video. Every once in a while, I look back at the greatest moments in my career, and everything I have achieved, as that shows me what I am capable of doing." The innocence of 2004 has long since gone. Sharapova has done a lot of growing up since then. “當我去年贏得第二座冠軍時，我真的很相信。我知道自己準備去贏，我在身心上都準備好了。也很努力地練習著。但2004年溫網，我就是沒想過已經做的到了。我看了那場比賽的片段，偶爾看一次，我會看看生涯中那些最棒的時刻，我達成的一切，就像告訴自己能做到什麼。。 As well as her campaigning for equal pay at Wimbledon, she became an ambassador for the United Nations this year. Her role is to highlight those affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This is an issue which she feels passionately about because when the reactor blew up in 1986, Sharapova's parents were living only 80 miles away. Just months later, Sharapova's mother was pregnant with the future tennis player, and was worried about what the toxic fall-out might do to her unborn daughter. So the family moved to Siberia, and Sharapova sees herself as a 'Chernobyl survivor'. "I feel so lucky I got out of there," she said. This season, during a long stretch at home because of a shoulder injury, the America-based player has learned all about doing chores around the home. "I was able to live a normal life by myself for a few weeks, going to the grocery store and cooking my own breakfast and lunch. It was so unusual for me. Usually I'm only there for a week at a time and my mum does all that stuff. She'll be the one going to the shops to buy toilet paper. I ran out of toilet paper and had to go to a friend's house next door to get some, which was a new experience for me," Sharapova said. "I'm 20 and in a way I'm so mature because of what my career has brought me, but in other ways I've missed out on the normal things of life. And that was wonderful being at home, I loved it. The first time I went shopping I was lost, absolutely lost. Now I've got it under control. I know where the vegetables are, where my favourite cheese is. But my cooking is awful. I always call my friends over to help me. I'm not very patient. I can't wait for things to boil or fry." Life on the court has been a challenge too, as she was thumped in the final of January's Australian Open by Serena Williams, and was also thrashed in the French Open semi-finals by Ana Ivanovic. But now she is back at her "centre of tennis", with her flat-hit shots suited to the Wimbledon grass. Wimbledon is always her best chance of winning a grand slam. Wimbledon and Sharapova are a great fit. And, anyway, she adores being in London, listing it as her second favourite city, behind New York: "Apart from the weather, London is one of the trendiest cities. And I love English men's sexy accent." Perhaps it is the accent which has made her name Prince William as one of her "dream" mixed doubles partners. "People do come up to me in the street in London, or in the bars and restaurants, to say hello," Sharapova said. "Everyone is always so friendly to me. I love being in London. And I love Wimbledon."," Sharapova said. "Everyone is always so friendly to me. I love being in London. And I love Wimbledon." 總之，莎娃：I love Wimbledon. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/06/23/stwimb1.xml --- 偷懶中:p (有誰要接手翻完，我不介意XDD) -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.117.49.70 ※ 編輯: jcshie 來自: 59.117.49.70 (06/23 15:16)