July 30, 2011
Maria Sharapova recently confirmed that she has hired Vladimir Voltchkov as a full-time hitting partner. Sharapova will be seeking to continue her intense preparations for the summer hard-court season, and the help from Voltchkov, with whom she has worked earlier in the year, may be just what the Russian superstar needs to get back to the top.
On Friday, Sharapova suffered a difficult straight-set loss to Serena Williams in Stanford, but the Russian will be looking to continue her improvements on the hard courts in preparation for the U.S. Open.
Belarus’s Voltchkov, who also worked with Sharapova during the grass-court season, was in Stanford with Sharapova and her coach, Thomas Hogstedt. Previously, Sharapova had worked with hitting partner Cecil Mamitt.
“It was more of a feeling,” Sharapova told Tennis.com of her decision to hire Voltchkov. “Cecil worked with me tremendously on clay — there isn’t a ball he couldn’t run down, I was like, ‘When am I going to hit a winner?’ But at Fed Cup earlier in the year I hit with Voltchkov a few times and I asked him if there was a time during the year we could work together and it worked during the grass season.”
“I like his ball and the way he hits shots and he can actually make me better,” she added.
According to three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, Hogstedt will remain in the primary leadership position, but she is looking forward to spending additional time with Voltchkov when Hogstedt is unavailable.
“It’s pretty tough to have two cooks in the kitchen,” Sharapova said. “He’s great cause [he’s] willing to travel full time – it’s a sick Russian mentality, you just want to stay home I’m not sure why, we are crazy. There are also some weeks when Thomas can’t come because he has to be with his family and then I can have [Voltchkov] for a few weeks. I’m excited about it.”
Sharapova, who claimed the 2006 U.S. Open title, will be working hard to hone her game before the final Grand Slam event of the year. The Russian, who has been climbing back up the rankings to No. 5 in the world, recently reached the final round at Wimbledon, where she fell to Petra Kvitova.
Despite Friday’s loss to Williams, against whom Sharapova has struggled over the years, the Russian will be looking ahead to a solid performance on the hard courts as she seeks to finish the final months of the year on a high note.
What do you think of Sharapova’s progress this year? Will she benefit from Voltchkov’s help? What should the Russian focus on improving?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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