Sharapova lost in the semi-finals for the second year in a row
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Maria Sharapova hit out at the media for not focusing on her tennis after her defeat in the Australian Open semi-finals by Justine Henin-Hardenne.
The Russian teenager's grunting has come under particularly intense scrutiny in the Australian media.
But the 18-year-old told reporters: "I know this is your job.
"But take your notepads, take your pencils down, take your grunt-o-meters down, the fashion police, put it all away and just watch the match."
Sharapova, who lost in three sets to Henin-Hardenne, also accused the media of concentrating on the negatives.
"For me to be able to go out there and play the quality of tennis that I did, I think it was great," said the Russian, who has lost in the semi-finals of the last three Grand Slams.
"And I know that probably I'm going be seeing headlines, you know, 'Maria can't get past the semis, Maria can't finish it off in the third'.
"But take all that away and just look at the tennis that we both played today. I think that shows a lot."
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