"I don't comment on my personal life" - When Maria Sharapova quickly shut down rumors she went out with Andy Roddick at Australian Open

Maria Sharapova is one of the most renowned tennis players of all time, winning the Career Grand Slam and reaching the World No. 1 spot at a time when the WTA Tour was stacked with talent. In addition to her talents on the tennis court, Sharapova also caught the imagination of the wider media world and quickly became one of the most popular faces on the planet.

As a result, the Russian could rarely avoid the limelight, leading to rumors and speculations of all kinds. In particular, her dating life invited a lot of attention. One such rumor was that she was dating former World No. 1 and American heartthrob Andy Roddick during the 2005-06 period.

The relationship, it should be noted, was never confirmed by either party, but that did not stop the media from probing them about the dating rumors. At the 2006 Australian Open, Sharapova was explicitly asked about the same, with one brave journalist brining up the fact that she and Roddick were spotted together at a casino.

"There was speculation that you were out with Andy Roddick when he was playing poker at the casino. Any more to that? Is that just a friendship?" the reporter asked.

The five-time Grand Slam champion, however, was quick to put an end to that line of questioning, saying:

"I don't comment on my personal life. I'm sorry."

On the other hand, Maria Sharapova did discuss how she spent her off-season vacation, revealing that she went to billionaire Richard Branson's island and the Caribbean.

"Yeah, well, I was in two different places. I went to the carribean. I was in Turks and Caicos. Then I went to -- Richard Branson invited me to his island, Necker, for another week. I had a little bit of both places. Fun under the sun," she said.

"Was I recognized? In Turks, yeah. In Necker, there's nobody there. I mean, it's like your own island to yourself. But, no, it was fun. It wasn't bad," she added.

"I took a nice vacation" - Maria Sharapova on how she prepared before the 2006 Australian Open

Maria Sharapova, evian global ambassador, celebrates the evian x Balmain pop-up hosted at the Rosewood Montecito - Source: Getty

At the press conference, Maria Sharapova detailed how she prepared for the Australian Open, stating that after a "nice" vacation, she went on a six-week training program before going to Japan to start her year.

"I took a nice vacation and then I started training. I trained for maybe five, six weeks. I went on my tour in Japan. I had to train -- you know, had to take a little bit off after that and then trained for another week," Maria Sharapova said.

Sharapova reached the semifinals of the tournament but lost to eventual runner-up Justine Henin in a close three-setter.