In an interview to Il Corriere della Sera, Maria Sharapova spoke about her parents, father Yuri and mother Yelena. Yuri says that Sharapova's talent comes from God. Does she agree? 'Yuri says a lot of things and he is not always right', Sharapova confessed.
'But he believes in miracles, otherwise, he would have never left Russia for the United States with her only daughter having $700 in his pocket, without speaking English at all. I started believing in them as well. I had a great fighting spirit.
Then you change, you evolve: I had tough days and I still have them today. But that girl has grown up and has now become an independent woman that has gone through a lot of challenges. Without mother and father.' Sharapova never speaks about her mother Yelena.
Why? 'Staying alone, not coming to tournaments, is her choice which I respect. She seems on the backgrounds because Yuri is able to catch the entire attention but in my life and my daily routine, my mother is always there. She is Maria's mother, not the Russian tennis champion's.'
What's her most ancient memory as a little girl in Siberia? 'Father Yuri who walks with me in the forest. It's spring and it has a very sweet taste. I am little. My mum is still studying and I am already under Yuri's protection: that will be the story of my life.'
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