Tennis great Maria Sharapova recalled in a podcast with Andy Roddick how the American ace once ‘pulled a trick’ on her while they were competing in Paris.
Speaking on the podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick’, Sharapova said she was about ‘19 or 20’ and on her first visit to Paris. “I’m setting context here. Place Vendome (an upscale area of Paris), I was staying at the Park Hyatt for the very first time,” she said. “You (Roddick) were staying at that hotel. And because I didn’t know the area, I said, ‘Hey, Andy, you’ve been here before. Can you give me a few restaurant recommendations for dinner?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, no, absolutely. There’s one around the corner. It’s called Hotel Coast.’
“And I was like, oh, great. So, you know, it’s my dad and, you know, a few of my male team members, my trainer, coach, and physical therapist: four boys and me. So we walk into the… It’s a hotel and it’s, like, meant to be a trendy hotel. I didn’t know it at the time. We walked in and they sat us down.
“And every server, I mean, looks like they’re from Moulin Rouge. And I was like, this guy must be sh**ting me. He really, he just, he purposely took me as a 19-year-old to this, it looked like a show. Like really short skirts and a lot of cleavage. And my team was like, Andy, Andy is the best. I stood up and I walked out. Because I thought you were pulling a trick on me,” Sharapova said, laughing.
Pleaded innocence
Roddick pleaded innocence, replying: “I don’t know what kind of room you and your team requested there. Every meal I’ve ever had there was respectable. The food was great. Nice little music, dim lighting…” However, Roddick — known for being a prankster on the tour — conceded ‘That sounds like something I might have done. I’m not going to fully deny it.’
Reflection on range of topics</h2?
Sharapova reflected on a range of topics during the free-wheeling interview and also opened up on motherhood. She said how ‘depending on the mood’ she calls her son, Theodore by two names. “We chose a name that would sound similar in both languages. I use Theodore when it’s like, let’s get this shit done. Because I just, I don’t have an extra minute of mental capacity, not physical, mental,” she said. “And it’s Theo every time else.
Sharapova also touched upon how parenthood has changed the meaning of Saturdays for her since her playing days. When someone asked me, ‘What is your favourite day of the week?’ Saturday was my favourite day of the week. Because that is a Grand Slam final. That’s where I want it to be. And now when Saturday comes along and you’re like, where is my nanny? There’s no school. There’s no nanny. You’re like, I don’t know if Saturday’s my favourite day.”
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She added: “A typical Saturday… it all kind of depends. We travel quite a bit. Our life, I mean, Alexander’s family is in the UK. So we spend a lot of time in Europe. In the States, it’s all, you know, in California, it’s the farmer’s market. We like to cook. We’re homebodies. So it’s not, I wouldn’t say it’s super exciting, but it’s very family oriented.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
