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Robert Lansdorp as Masha's coach
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Sharapov considered all coaches in the United States and chose the best for his daughter – it was Robert Lansdorp. He has coached such champions as Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin.
“Tennis is the thing that turns her on. Forget about anything that has nothing to do with tennis – posing for magazines and such. Yes, she also does this, but believe me - compared to tennis, she doesn't care about that at all. What she can accomplish on the tennis court – that is above all for her. Just look once at how she trains. She never stands in the middle of the court and never wastes any time for warm-up. No, she always comes out to the court and says: “So, let’s start, damn it!” She is a real fighter, and anyone at the Academy who is sparring against her, very soon begins to look like a guinea-pig.” – says Nick Bollettieri .
In adult tournaments carried out under the aegis of International Tennis Federation Masha made her debut in 2001 in Sarasota where she, nonetheless, lost in the very first round. But a year later in Columbus, when she was not even in the Women’s Tennis Association’s rating, she won an instant victory over the competitor, who was amongst the world’s 300 best tennis-players.
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