'I saw he was practicing on the court ...' - Maria Sharapova reveals shocking secrets about Rafael Nadal at 2018 Italian Open

Former Tennis star Maria Sharapova once shared an amusing incident when she was asked about 'popping the question' to Rafael Nadal for a practice session at the Italian Open in 2018. Notably, the great player started her campaign at the WTA 1000 with a hard-fought 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Barty; however, this was her main practice game with Rafael Nadal, which garnered attention from the media.

Meanwhile, the Russian-born star has revealed about her practice session with Rafael Nadal during the post-match conference. The 37-year-old star revealed that she spotted Rafael Nadal practising on the clay and had approached Nadal to hit a couple of balls at her.

"Well, I saw he was practising on the court right before me. And I said to my team, I was like, Wouldn't it be amazing if I just came up to Rafa and said, Would you hit a couple of 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, (laughing)," said Maria Sharapova.

You're just asking him to hit a couple of balls with you: Maria Sharapova

In addition, the five-time Grand Slam winner disclosed that she eventually gave in to her coaching encouragement, and Nadal felt it was kind of weird despite his agreement to work with her. However, she further revealed that she urged the media not to get any crazy interpretations about her.

"They're like, no, you should. I was like, really? You think I should? And so I did. And he was, like, yeah. He probably thought I was really weird. I think he still thinks I'm really weird (laughing). I was like -- Okay. Let's not get crazy. Actually, that's what they said. It's not like you're asking him to go on a date. You're just asking him to hit a couple of balls with you (laughing)," she added further.