[新聞] Sharapova opens 2010 healthy, motiva …
這篇太多了，也不好翻，不逐字，摘要+引言翻譯。
(總而言之就是懶惰 XD)
Sharapova opens 2010 healthy, motivated ... and still golden
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2010-01-11-maria-sharapova-interview_N.htm
By Douglas Robson, Special for USA TODAY
Six seasons since a little-known 17-year-old triggered a
worldwide commercial revolution by capturing Wimbledon,
Maria Sharapova's Madison Avenue magic continues to keep
sponsors spellbound.
（總之是前言）
A one-person fiscal stimulus package, the Siberian-born,
Florida-trained Russian routinely ranks as the highest-paid
female athlete in the world with earnings of $22 million
annually. But the economic juggernaut of Sharapova Inc. is
in danger of diverging with her on-court success.
莎娃持續很賺。
Following right shoulder surgery in October 2008 and a
10-month layoff, Sharapova in 2009 was a shadow of the
player that blew past opponents for major hardware. Now,
for the first time in two years, she starts the season at
next week's Australian Open healthy, eager and rested.
總算要以健康完善的狀態回到澳網。
The last time that happened? January 2008, when Sharapova
bulldozed her way through a brutal draw that included four
former or future No. 1s to a third Grand Slam title and
first in Melbourne without dropping a set.
In a rare two-hour interview last month with USA TODAY
inside her modern, three-story house in Manhattan Beach,
Calif., Sharapova opened up about her fears and
frustrations following surgery, her burning desire to
compete and her outsize business ambitions.
去年底，難得的兩小時專訪，地點在莎娃加州的家。內容包括莎
娃這段時間的恐懼、挫折，還有對競爭的渴望，以及商業野心。
"There was a lot of downtime for me to think about what I
wanted," says Sharapova, who sat at her dining room table
overlooking the Pacific Ocean while Dolce, the famed
Pomeranian, licked, sniffed and nipped at an intruder. ("He
has a personality disorder," laughed Sharapova.)
「有很多停工時間可以想我要什麼，」莎娃表示。此時莎娃的狗
Dolce 正在騷擾訪客。莎娃笑說，Dolce 有人格障礙。
For Sharapova, a 20-time Tour winner who has spent 17 total
weeks at No. 1, the months away from tennis — her longest
absence since becoming a full-time pro in 2003 — allowed
her to engage in normal twenty-something activities. She
honed her cooking skills, hung out with friends and spent
overdue time with her mother, who didn't come over when
Sharapova first arrived in the USA at age 7 and has always
been in the background. It also left her in unfamiliar
territory: bored and powerless.
對莎娃而言，那段復健期間，是個完全陌生的領域：無聊又無力。
"As much as I wanted to get back out there as soon as I
could, as weeks and months passed by I realized I couldn't
make the process faster," she says of the rehabilitation
following surgery. "In tennis, if I want to improve
something, I know I can go out on the court, I can work on
it, I can give it extra time. This was something I felt
like I had no control over."
「我想越快回到球場越好，但幾個月過去後，我才了解復健進度無
法變快。如果是打網球時，想改善什麼，我知道可以去球場，可
以多練一下。但復健這事卻是我無法控制的。」莎娃說。
As she bounced between rehab stints in Phoenix and Los
Angeles, those closest to Sharapova could see it gnawing
away.
親友能感受到復健對莎娃的折磨。
"It was sad," says her media-shy mother, Yelena, who looks
like a slightly older version of actress Uma Thurman. "She
was like a bird in a cage."
「很難過呀，她看起來就像籠中鳥一樣。」莎娃鮮少在媒體前露面
的媽媽 Yelena 如是說。莎娃媽看起來就像年長一點點的的烏瑪舒
曼。
Sharapova says she distanced herself from thoughts her
career might be over even as her recovery dragged past her
doctor's most optimistic predictions. She avoided anything
to do with tennis but never lost her motivation.
She also gained perspective with time outside the
proverbial athlete's bubble. As she agonizingly watched her
peers snatch big trophies, the world around her took notice
but then quickly went back to daily life. It was a wakeup
call.
這段時間也讓她對事情有不同的看法。
"You win a tournament, say a Grand Slam, it's such an
amazing feeling, everyone is excited, you get text
messages, all these congratulations, you're on top of the
world," Sharapova says. "And the next day it's all over and
you go home and you're in your normal life. … It's like
nothing happened. My friends are still at work. Everyone's
doing the same thing."
「當你奪冠時，比如說大滿貫好了，那種感覺真的很棒，每個人
都很興奮，你會收到一堆訊息、一堆恭喜，堪稱就在世界的頂
端。但隔天，當你回到家，回到平常的生活後，一切就結束了
…好像什麼都沒發生過一樣。朋友們都在工作，一切如常。」
Don't be mistaken. Sharapova lives to win. But she can now
appreciate that "a lot of work goes into lifting up a
trophy for 10 seconds in your life."
但別搞錯了，莎娃只是更能領會「為了那舉起獎盃的十秒鐘，需
要投注許多努力」。
Getting her groove back
When the former No. 1 returned in May at a small event in
Warsaw, she was beside herself.
"Giddy," says Michael Joyce, who became Sharapova's
full-time hitting partner in 2005.
Still, progress came in fits and starts. She struggled
through four consecutive three-set matches to reach the
French Open quarterfinals but lost in the second round of
Wimbledon. Employing an abbreviated service motion to
preserve the repaired rotator cuff, Sharapova never found
her groove.
復出之後，得慢慢找回正軌，身體、技術上都是。
Her power game resembled nothing of the player who had
started 2008 by pummeling Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin,
Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic— all past, present or
future No. 1s — at the 2008 Australian Open during a
season-opening 18-match winning streak.
難與 2008 年澳網時力壓群雌的神勇狀態相比。
Sharapova recalls the feeling as playing "like a horse with
blinders — nothing bothered me."
莎娃回想當時就像蒙著眼罩的馬一樣─什麼都不會干擾她。
As she tried different deliveries, a cascade of
embarrassing double faults — including a 2009 tour-high of
20 in a loss to American Melanie Oudin at the U.S. Open —
rained down around her. Sharapova calls the constant
tweaking "laughable" but admits the serving woes were
troublesome
嘗試不同發球動作時，莎娃的雙誤產量激增，最多的是 2009 年美
網輸給 Oudin 時，莎娃轟了 20 個雙誤。莎娃說那狀況很“好笑”
，但也承認發球狀況很麻煩。
"The double faults were getting into her head a little
bit," Joyce says, especially the more people talked about
it.
「她會忍不住去想雙誤問題，」Joyce 表示，尤其是越來越多人討
論時。
After the U.S. Open, Sharapova returned to a longer motion
and promptly claimed her first title in 18 months at Tokyo
in October. She started 2009 outside the top 100 but
finished at No. 14.
去年美網後，莎娃回到較接近舊有的發球動作，隨即奪下一年半以
來的首座冠軍，最後以年終第十四名結束賽季。
"Finally I wasn't scared to go out and hit the ball," says
Sharapova, who did deal with soreness during her comeback
when she played a lot.
「我總算不會怕上場打球了，」莎娃表示，復出期間，比賽較多時，
就得處理疼痛的問題。
"You could just see that confidence come back — it was a
relief to her," Joyce says.
「可以感覺到她的信心回來了，她就像如釋重負一樣。」Joyce 說。
Midas touch
If Sharapova had to retool the muscle memory on her service
motion, her boardroom acumen needed no overhaul. With a
business sense as sharp as her down-the-line backhand,
Sharapova continues to rake in far more each year than the
$13 million in career prize money she has earned. In her
abbreviated 2009 season, Sharapova earned $898,619 on the
court, but her off-court earnings were consistent
雖然縮水的 2009 賽季中，莎娃在場上只有 $898,619 收入，但
場外收益可不斷成長中。
What makes her so potent is her mix of looks, charisma,
consistent performance and, so far, impeccable behavior,
according to Bob Dorfman, analyst and author of the Sports
Marketing Scouting Report.
"I call it the three P's — performance, personality and
purity," Dorfman says. "She's pretty much at the top in all
three."
At 22, Sharapova is working on a branding strategy that can
outlast her playing days, similar to those successfully
employed by retired Michael Jordan and Greg Norman. Instead
of shilling her image, she has increasingly sought
licensing agreements with her sponsors such as Nike and Tag
Heuer that allow her to take a piece of the performance pie.
Such deals are "really reserved for the upper echelon of
athlete endorsers," says Bob Williams, the chief executive
of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing, a firm that
negotiates endorsements for companies.
"The goal is to make the business live beyond her tennis,"
says Sharapova's longtime IMG agent, Max Eisenbud.
「目標是讓這事業可以延展到她不打網球以後，」莎娃長期的 IMG
經紀人 Max Eisenbud 如是說著莎娃目前的品牌策略。
Sharapova is even branching into TV production, forming a
company called 30001 Productions (named for the zip code of
the Australian Open in Melbourne). Sharapova will executive
produce two shows in development, one animated the other an
Entourage-like drama whose pilot has been optioned to cable
outlet CW.
莎娃甚至還將觸角伸到電視製作，成立一個製作單位（還以墨爾本
的郵遞區號命名），目前有兩個節目正在培養中，其中一個類似大
明星小跟班的戲劇節目會透過 CW 試播。
"It's pretty tough as a 22-year-old to sit here and say,
'One day I'm going to have an empire business,' but I
certainly want to keep things moving when I'm done with
tennis," Sharapova says."I don't want to just sit on my
butt. I'm young, I have many goals, and I want to keep
going."
「很難坐在這裡說“有天我要有多偉大的事業”，但我的確想要
在不打球之後繼續保持一些事情。但我不打算紙上談兵，我還
年輕，有很多目標，我想繼續前進。」莎娃說。
On cue, three of her biggest sponsors, Nike, Tag Heuer, and
Prince, are launching products tied to her name this month
to coincide with the kickoff of her 2010 season.
莎娃最大的三個贊助商，Nike, Tag Heuer, 以及 Prince，這個月
都會推出屬於莎娃的系列產品。
Nike, for instance, is preparing to announce a new Maria
Sharapova clothing line in Melbourne, including a dress she
will debut that was inspired by drawings from the small
sketch book she carries with her all over the world.
像是 NIKE 會發表一個新的莎娃衣服系列，包括莎娃會在澳網穿的
戰袍，而這件球衣靈感來自莎娃隨身攜帶的素描本。
"She's the whole package, and resonates with that young
consumer across the globe," says Chad Haws, general manager
for the shoe and apparel behemoth.
"Her brand has opened doors for us," says Steve Davis, vice
president of global product development for Prince, which
has a lifetime contract with Sharapova and is using her in
a campaign for its new EXO3 Black racquet.
Offers come in all the time, but Sharapova — wary of
comparisons to Russian Anna Kournikova, who cashed in on
her looks but didn't have the on-court success to back it
up — is not afraid to say no.
不同的贊助邀請很多，但莎娃不怕拒絕。
"I know my limit … and I also know what keeps me
interested and what makes it fun for me," she says of
keeping tennis her top priority.
「我知道自己的限度，我也知道什麼讓我感興趣，」莎娃談到
要保持網球在最優先位置。
Sharapova's Midas touch is not lost on the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour. As much as any player, Sharapova drives ticket
sales, media coverage and TV ratings for women's tennis.
Tournament directors clamor for her in their draws.
Producers juggle their schedules to broadcast her in prime
time. And the buzz she generates attracts more casual fans
to the sport.
ESPN officials say she is one of the few players that move
the needle "regardless of the score." Indeed, ESPN2's
highest-rated tennis telecast was the 2007 Australian Open
final, when tennis' other dial-moving diva, Serena
Williams, defeated Sharapova in straight sets.
"For women's tennis, Maria provides a diverse array of
marketing platforms and brand values that drive consumer
engagement across our events, along with television
ratings, digital media consumption and sponsorship," WTA
CEO Stacey Allaster says.
Her return to elite status certainly can't hurt the tour,
which is in negotiations with title sponsor Sony Ericsson,
whose six-year, $88 million deal ends in 2010. (Sharapova
also has a separate global sponsor deal with the mobile
phone maker.)
"Having a branded global superstar that lacks baggage and
controversy — as Sharapova does — provides an important
story line and marketing buzz for those associated with the
Tour," according to David M. Carter, executive director of
the University of Southern California Sports Business
Institute.
（總之，大家都來賺。）
Off the court
On the personal front, Sharapova is evolving.
Always preternaturally mature and unafraid to take charge
of her career, Sharapova's once omnipresent (and often
controversial) father, Yuri, has faded into the background.
He was seldom seen at events in 2009, a trend that started
four years ago.
莎娃爸 Yuri 從四年前開始減少參與莎娃的比賽，去年就很少出現
在場邊。
"We've been a great team for many years, but there's a life
for me, there's another life for you," Sharapova says her
father told her after winning the Australian Open. He
follows her matches religiously, says Sharapova — an only
child — but spends most of his time hiking, skiing and
pursuing business interests in Russia.
「我們一直是很好的團隊，但我有自己的生活，你也有其他的生活
，」莎娃說父親在她贏得澳網後如此告訴她。莎娃說，他還是持續
會追蹤自己的比賽，但多數時間他都在爬山、滑雪，還有從事俄羅
斯那邊的事業。
Filling some of the void for Sharapova is new romantic
interest Sasha Vujacic of Slovenia, who plays guard for the
Los Angeles Lakers. They started dating when she returned
from Tokyo in the fall following her breakup with Charlie
Ebersol, the son of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics
chairman Dick Ebersol.
Sasha Vujacic 填補部分私生活的空白，他們去年秋天開始交往。
An apparently smitten Sharapova says a big part of the
attraction is their common experience as world-class
athletes.
莎娃說，最吸引人的一點是雙方身為世界級運動員的共同經驗。
"We rarely talk about sports, but it's just an
understanding of what we do," she says. "We never have to
talk about it. We just know. It's there. It makes it easier
and nicer."
「我們不太常聊運動，但就是能了解我們在做什麼。不需要去談
，因為就是知道，就是存在著，這讓關係更輕鬆也更好。」
Sharapova won't be taking it easy or nice on the
competition. That has always been her forte: laser, deadly,
clinical focus.
The question is whether she can win more majors and be a
dominant player again. Joyce for one is convinced she can.
"She finished the year in a pretty good spot, and it looks
to me like she could have a pretty good Act II," Joyce says.
回到場上，問題在於莎娃能否找回自己的頂尖狀態，Joyce 表示
相當有信心。
Sharapova insists she will as long as her shoulder stays
healthy.
莎娃堅信只要保持健康，她可以做到。
"It's definitely not the easiest thing to be watching Grand
Slams and to see a few suspect candidates in the later
stages of the tournament," says Sharapova, who clearly
believes she should be holding the trophy, regardless how
fleeting the euphoria is.
Observers say this season could reveal where Sharapova will
stand in the pecking order.
Says ESPN's Pam Shriver: "If she doesn't have a run of
supreme confidence in 2010, it will be a concern whether
she'll have another run again. It's a huge year for her to
show whether she'll be a force in her mid-to-late 20s or
not."
In that sense, Melbourne's loaded draw will be a litmus
test.
"A name like Maria's is always good for fans to see in the
draw," 2009 U.S. Open champ Kim Clijsters says, "and as a
competitor you like to play against those players who bring
out the best in you."
Not since the 2006 Australian Open have the most prolific
Grand Slam winners of the last decade — Serena and Venus
Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Clijsters and Henin— joined
Sharapova at the same major.
競爭激烈的澳網。
"It's going to be a pretty full deck," Sharapova says.
Plus, there are paybacks. Sharapova is winless against the
Williams sisters in their last six meetings, and her 0-4
stretch against defending Melbourne champion Serena goes
back to 2004, the year she deposed the 28-year-old American
at Wimbledon.
而且很久沒贏大小威。
However, she doesn't expect to be crisscrossing the globe
chasing trophies much past 30.
但莎娃並不期待自己超過三十歲還在全球跑的追逐獎盃。
"Not because I don't love the sport," she says. "I think at
a certain point, especially as a woman, there are other
things to life."
「不是因為我不愛網球，但我想某方面來說，對一個女人而言，生
命中還有其他的事情。」莎娃說。
Sharapova wants to have kids, though she can't replicate
her family's recent history. Her mother gave birth to her
at 20.
莎娃想有孩子，雖然她無法依循家庭的歷史─媽媽在二十歲時就生
下她。
"We're already past that," she laughs.
「已經超過了喔，」她笑說
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 220.135.140.34
※ 編輯: jcshie 來自: 220.135.140.34 (01/15 21:06)
※ 編輯: jcshie 來自: 220.135.140.34 (01/15 23:42)
推
01/16 14:36, , 1F
01/16 14:36, 1F
Sharapova 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
