WINNING tournaments aside, Novak Djokovic has made a career out of impersonating Maria Sharapova.

Not that the Russian damsel minds it one bit.

In fact, she finds the Serb entertaining.

'He's just really funny, really entertaining,' Sharapova said.

'He's just a really fun and a funny guy - doesn't take life too seriously, but yet a hard worker.'

Sharapova believes tennis will be better off with more personalities like Djokovic.

'You know, compared to other sports, tennis lacks personalities like him,' she said.

'I think we should have more personalities like him, because it really brings so many fans outside of the game into our sport.

'It's good to have those types of players and personalities.

'It just makes it so much more fun because you want to watch it, you know, either live or on TV, because it's entertaining.'

Tennis could do with more Marat Safins, too, reckons Sharapova.

Her compatriot doesn't do impersonations, but routinely gives memorable one-liners during interviews.

Between Djokovic and Safin, Sharapova can't tell who's funnier of the two.

'They have different humour,' she said.

'Novak just doesn't stop talking. Marat - he'll be quiet for a really long time and then he'll come up with a good one-liner.'

Which explains why Sharapova is far from irritated at having been made the butt of a joke.

Sharapova reveals that the first time she saw Djokovic's impersonation of herself, she burst out laughing.

'I saw him do it once - while having a family dinner at home watching him at the US Open. My mom was like, 'Do you see what he's doing?' (laughter.)

'I'm like, 'Yes, mom, it's right in front of me.'

Sharapova was only at home during that time because she had been upset by Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the US Open.

REBOUND

It was the earliest Grand Slam exit for the Russian in three years, but it seems that now she has well and truly rebounded from that setback.

Sharapova posted a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open, to extend her winning streak to 17 consecutive matches dating back to last year.

And she believes her bitter experience at the US Open has played a part in her revival.

'Every athlete is going to have their peaks and troughs,' she said.

'At my age I've already had my high notes. I've had my share of low notes as well.

'It's about what you learn from it, the attitude you take from it, and how you deal with it.

'Because at the end of the day those moments personally have made me stronger and have made me appreciate things a lot more.

'Last year for me was very frustrating.

'I had many downfalls, and many times where I could have just said, I'm going to give tennis a break for a little bit, maybe a month or so and go on vacation.

'But I just kept going.'

And that's the same advice she'd give to Lauryn Edwards, the nine-year-old who hit the headlines recently when she was banned from playing tennis - because of her loud grunting.

Edwards, who admitted that her idol was Sharapova, reportedly cried when she was told to either stop grunting or she'd be thrown out of the courts.

'I don't think that's right,' Sharapova blasted.

'You know, I've grunted since I was four-years-old.

'It's unfortunate (for Edwards) and I hope that it doesn't become too serious for her.'

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