Sharapova hopes to regain edge at Wimbledon

By Golnar Motevalli

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova said she had put her French Open disappointment behind her and was ready for the grasscourt slam next week despite little practice on the surface.

Sharapova, who was knocked out by fellow Russian Dinara Safina in the fourth round at Roland Garros earlier this month, has decided not to play any warm-up grass tournaments ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.

"I wanted to change things a little bit, sometimes your year becomes a routine and I wanted to change pace," the 2004 champion told reporters this week at a school close to Wimbledon.

"I feel I needed a break from the road and to recharge my batteries."

Sharapova won the first grand slam of the year at the Australian Open in January, and although the French Open remained the only major missing from her collection she did not dwell on the disappointment of losing on clay.

"It hurt for a few hours but once I got on the plane it was pretty much gone. Some losses take longer than others but if it's meant to be, it's meant to be," Sharapova said.

"Within 24 hours of losing at Paris I was at home in my coffee shop looking through a cookbook and wondering what I was going to cook for dinner so I have a very normal life outside of this tennis world."

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