Maria set to make Russia's Fed Cup debut in Moscow

Maria Sharapova will make her long-awaited Fed Cup debut for Russia against Spain.

"It's all has been agreed and unless she is injured, we will see Maria in Moscow in April," Russia's tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev, who is also their Fed Cup captain, told Reuters on Wednesday. Sharapova will be joined by world number three Svetlana Kuznetsova and world number seven Nadia Petrova for the two-day indoor tie at Moscow's Luzhniki Sports Palace from April 21 to 22.

Tarpishchev must choose between 11th-ranked Anna Chakvetadze and 14th-ranked Dinara Safina to replace Elena Dementieva, who has a rib injury. "Aside from Dementieva, we'll have our strongest team there," said Tarpishchev. There have always been doubts in the Russian media over whether Sharapova would ever play for her country, but the Florida-based 19-year-old made herself available shortly after winning last year's U.S. Open title. Playing Fed Cup for Russia would make Maria Sharapova eligible to play in next year's Bejing Olympics.

Maria Sharapova needs miracle

Maria Sharapova believes she will need a miracle to play at her best at the French Open. The world number four, who has yet to play a match on clay this season, arrived at Roland Garros very short of match practice.

A right foot injury has prevented the Russian from playing competitive tennis since her 6-4 6-3 defeat by compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Nasdaq-100 Open final on April 1. "I do not think I'm as competitive as I would like to be," Maria Sharapova said. "If I can play correctly, it will be a miracle. I'm really not at 100 percent," the fourth seed said. "I've spent the past two weeks training and nursing my injury."

Maria Sharapova (by Kathy Ehrich-Dowd)

After a few weeks off, No. 4-ranked Maria Sharapova, who turns 19 on April 19, says she'll be ready to jump back into the tournament circuit after losing to her Russian rival Svetlana Kuznetsova in Miami at the NASDAQ-100 last month.

That gives the tennis star, who's been living in Bradenton, Fla., time to relax at her new Los Angeles home, a house she bought on Manhattan Beach. PEOPLE recently caught up with the Wimbledon champ and got the scoop on her new pad, the incident in Miami and her extra inch.

You had some drama recently in Miami, when you had to use the restroom during a match and the audience booed. How did you handle it?
I'm a woman. I have a small bladder. I needed to go – what are you going to do when you gotta go? Actually, it was a really tough situation in the match because I was winning and then she started coming back. It actually ended very dramatically – it was very unfortunate – the girl (Tatiana Golovin of France) twisted her ankle. But that's tennis. We all need a little drama.

You've been playing a lot. What's your training schedule?
I just finished a tournament a week ago, I've been shooting for my sponsors, then I have a few days to start training again. I'll have like two weeks off and back to the tournaments.

How do you keep in shape in addition to playing tennis?
I work out. I love yoga. I do yoga when I have time, which is not very often. I'm not a huge gym person, so I try to stay away from the gym. But I love to run on the beach or go for a walk. It's better than riding a stationary bike.

I read that you grew an inch last year, to 6'2". Do you feel any different?
Well, I can see a little more hair now.


And you just bought a home in Manhattan Beach. How do you like it?
I love it. I've always loved L.A. but never seemed to find a place. But I finally found a really nice house.

How are you decorating it?
It's modern nature. It's really cool. I've been adding a lot of wooden pieces to it. I love Balinese style, so I'm making it really homey. I'm always on the lookout for new little boutiques, but I travel around the world so that gives me different ideas.

Are you dating anyone?
I don't want to talk about that, I'm sorry. But I love how you tried to sneak that one in!