Maria, Nadal share court

Rome, May 16: Russian star Maria Sharapova giggled with delight as she revealed how she plucked up the courage to pop the question and got to practise with Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open.

The two former world number ones hit balls together on the red clay of the Foro Italico where they are both multiple winners.

“I saw he was practising on the court right before me,” explained Sharapova, after advancing to the second round on Tuesday past Australian Ashleigh Barty.

“And I said to my team ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if I just came up to Rafa and said ‘would you hit a couple balls with me?’

“And they’re like, yeah, what’s wrong with that? And I was like, a lot of things. There’s a lot of things wrong with just coming up to Rafa. They’re like, no, you should. It’s not like you’re asking him to go on a date. And so I did.”

“He probably thought I was really weird. I think he still thinks I’m really weird,” she added.

The Russian was overjoyed at being able to rally with Nadal, tweeting: “Two minutes on court with the GOAT @RafaelNadal #BucketList Was so nervous.”

“This tournament has been special in my career,” said the 31-yearold, who received a wild- card entry last year as she made her comeback from a 15-month doping ban.

She retired injured from her second round match to end her hopes of qualifying on merit for Wimbledon’s main draw after being denied a wildcard entry to Roland Garros.

“It’s brought me a lot of great matches and a lot of match play toward the Grand Slam that we all look forward to playing.

“And usually it’s the last tournament I play before Roland Garros. So, it is an important one,” said twotime French Open winner Sharapova who reached the quarterfinals in Madrid last week.

Sharapova and Nadal hit balls together on the red clay of the Foro Italico where they are both multiple winners. Maria was overjoyed at being able to rally with Nadal, tweeting: “Two minutes on court with the GOAT @RafaelNadal #BucketList Was so nervous.”