Maria Sharapova of Russia waves to the crowd after beating compatriot Maria Kirilenko during their match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 25, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Maria Sharapova of Russia waves to the crowd after beating compatriot Maria Kirilenko during their match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 25, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton REUTERS

Maria Sharapova has said in an interview following her first round victory over fellow compatriot and ex-doubles partner Maria Kirilenko at the 2014 US Open that medical timeouts should be fined. Apparently, Sharapova can't seem to get over the sting of losing to Ana Ivanovic, who kept calling for medical timeouts, in the semifinals match of the 2014 Western & Southern Open.

"I'd probably start charging for medical timeouts," Sharapova said when asked what rule she could change if she was given an opportunity to change any rule about tennis. "I think we'd all see who really uses them and who doesn't," Sharapova added. The Russian tennis darling said it would be fair to fine a player with $2500 dollars for medical timeouts.

Sharapova further said that medical timeouts never really bothered her. Based on her experience and given that she had injuries in the past, Sharapova said she was able to recover from it positively. She added that it only boiled down to maintaining her focus and not resting for a long period of time.

"I don't remember many times where it's (medical timeout) affected me too much."

"I've never really felt a victim of it."

Both Sharapova and Ivanovic are through the first round of the Open, and the statements that the Russian has made about penalizing medical timeouts have reached Ivanovic.

"I mean, I think that's a little big harsh, you know," Ivanovic said. The 26-year-old Serbian athlete said that many players would likely agree to pay if overall health and wellbeing are on the line. "Maybe toilet breaks, that's another story, but medical timeouts, I think players use them when they really need them," Ivanovic told the reporters.

Sharapova was on the verge of winning the semifinals match against Ivanovic at the 2014 Western & Southern Open (Cincinnati Masters). She had match points twice in the game, but her lead fizzled away when Ivanovic called for a medical timeout. Sharapova seemed to have lost her focus in the match toward the end, and eventually lost in the game.

Watch the highlights of the semifinals match between Sharapova and Ivanovic at Cincinnati below.

Video courtesy: YouTube/Tennisjunkie146

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