Hello again everyone 
So today when I came to the tournament for practice it was very windy outside, and eventually it started raining, so after the first two matches were done they moved the rest of the matches to indoor courts. I thought that was cool, because I played indoors all last week in Kolkata so I’m kind of used to it now. I don’t mind this change at all. My match against Yuan Meng was still hard, although not as tough as yesterday’s match. Unlike yesterday, Yuan’s backhand was better than her forehand, so I played more to that side, and I won in straight sets.
Actually the first thing I did when I got to the courts today was an interview with GOM TV. The Tournament Director asked me if I would do it and I had lots of time so of course I said okay, and I was pretty excited because the guy who’d be interviewing me was apparently very famous in Korea. They asked me a few strange questions – like was I nervous, and how I felt about being compared to Sharapova. I’m so tired of that question! I don’t know why people keep asking. I’m actually good friends with Maria. Whenever we’re at the same tournaments we talk and even when we’re at different tournaments we’ll text each other. When she was at Fed Cup in Moscow she was keeping me in the loop, which was great. We first met when we were playing the juniors so I’ve known her quite a while.
Anyway, one of the other questions they asked me was if I’d try on a traditional Korean dress, and of course I said yes. I tried an Indian dress on in Kolkata for a photo shoot and it was so different and interesting, so I was very happy to do it for them here too. So they gave me a box, and I thought they’d be giving me the dress in there, but when I opened it there were two Korean dolls. It was really nice of them, but it wasn’t what I was expecting, although they are really nice! I’ve attached a picture of the dolls…
Other than the TV interview and my outdoor practice session, I practiced indoors for about 20 minutes before my match. Afterwards I stretched, got a massage, and actually I just came back to the hotel 10 minutes ago. We’ve already ordered room service. I’ve asked for seafood salad and fish with rice. Not another steak today… I think the one yesterday was enough!
I’m playing Castaño in the quarterfinals tomorrow. I’ve never played her, but we have practiced together, so I do know a little bit about her. Her coach is always trying to be really cool – he’s always speaking so loud so everyone can hear him, and so everyone knows he’s there! It’s really funny
Thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you all again tomorrow!
Maria
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Bloggers (www.sonyericssonwtatour.com)
