"Don't mess with a truck, you're going to become a pancake" - When Maria Sharapova commented on reacting to crowd calling her 'tired'

Maria Sharapova once spoke about responding to the crowd who called her 'tired' at the 2006 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.

Sharapova was seeded third at the tournament and booked her place in the semifinals with wins over Jamea Jackson, Lisa Raymond, Shahar Pe'er and Anna-Lena Gronefeld. She then faced 19th seed Martina Hingis and qualified for the championship match.

Sharapova said in her press conference that she knew that the match would be tough.

"Yeah, I was really ready today. I really was. I knew it was going to be tough. I didn't underestimate her level of play. I knew it was going to be a very tough match and I need to be ready for it," Sharapova said.

The Russian claimed that the crowd "got her better," adding that she got pumped up when someone called her tired. Sharapova called herself a "truck," messing with which would make someone become a "pancake."

"Also the crowd got me better. In the second set, someone yelled, 'Martina, she's getting tired.' That kind of pumped me up a little bit. I hit two winners in a row. I looked back at them, and I'm like, tired, my butt. So don't mess with a truck. You're going to become a pancake," the Russian said.

Sharapova's win over Hingis saw her book a title clash against Elena Dementieva. The then-teenager won 6-1, 6-2 to bag her first title in Indian Wells. She came very close to completing the Sunshine Double but lost in the final of the Miami Open (then known as the Nasdaq-100 Open).

Maria Sharapova won 36 singles titles during her career

Maria Sharapova at the 2023 US Open final

Maria Sharapova is among the best players of her generation and one of the most popular tennis players of all time.

Sharapova won five Grand Slam titles during her career, and is among the few players to win all of the four Majors. She won two French Open titles, in 2012 and 2014, while triumphing at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2008, 2004 and 2006, respectively. Her Wimbledon victory came when she was 17 years old; the Russian defeated Serena Williams in the final.

Apart from her Major wins, Sharapova won 12 WTA 1000 titles as well as the 2004 WTA Finals. She also secured an Olympic silver in 2012, when the event took place in London. The former World No. 1 had lesser success on the doubles circuit though, winning three titles.