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Quotable Quotes: Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova plays her first tournament of the summer hardcourt season in Cincinnati this week. How's her hip doing? How has Jimmy Connors been helping her? Read on for that and more..

CINCINNATI, OH, USA - Since falling at Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova has been out for seven weeks with a hip injury, having to withdraw from scheduled stops in Stanford and Toronto. But she's back now and hoping to make an impressions in Cincinnati. She met the press Monday - here's what she said...

On her hip...

"Everything's feeling fine. I didn't want to come back to my first tournament not being 100%. I feel it's important to spend extra time to get ready and heal and make sure I'm ready to go once I play tournaments again. Obviously it's very unfortunate to miss tournaments, but sometimes that's just the way it goes, and sometimes playing your full calendar just doesn't happen. I'd rather play when I'm feeling good and healthy than when I'm not. You definitely learn what your priorities are with time."

On how her recently-announced coaching arrangement with Jimmy Connors is working...

"I got a chance to work with Jimmy a few years ago for a few weeks, and he had a lot of great things to say. A lot of it was through his experience and his knowledge. It wasn't really about teaching me anything technically. I enjoyed the time I had working with him. And I loved his philosophies about no substitute for hard work - he certainly emphasizes that in every single practice session we have.

"At this stage of my career, his experience is really priceless, and his work ethic as well."

On how the new coaching arrangement compares to Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl...

"It's a little bit different. I started working with Jimmy after winning four Grand Slams. So I know what it feels like to accomplish that already - I've been there before. It was more the work ethic that I knew he would put in, and the experience and the knowledge as well. He's definitely been there."

On whether we'll see a higher level of intensity now because of Connors...

"I don't know... I'm pretty intense as it is!"

On how she feels with the US Open around the corner...

"To be honest, nothing else matters until you go on the court. You still have to go on the court and do your job. I haven't played a match in many weeks - I might feel a bit rusty here and there this week, maybe I'll have to get through a few tough matches and make a few more unforced errors than I would expect myself to make. But obviously the goal is the US Open, and I'm here to prepare for it."

On how strong Sugarpova has been going...

"It's mindblowing. I never expected it to be so global. We've kind of settled ourselves in the tennis world. It's incredible the amount of packages I'm signing nowadays at tennis events. I'm enjoying seeing how people have adopted it in a way and are really excited about it, and following it on social media too, like Instagram and Twitter... I'm just enjoying the process and seeing it grow."