Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova revealed she is in awe of 19-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal and praised the Spaniard for being 'smart' throughout his career.

Sharapova, 32, has not won a Slam tournament since the French Open in 2014 and has struggled to regain her form since being suspended for a failed drugs test in 2016.

But the 2004 Wimbledon winner is adamant she is hungrier than ever to add to her trophy cabinet.

Speaking after an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi, she said: “I really love what I do. I think you see it when I am on the court, when I do have the chance to compete, I really enjoy being there. I really have a great purpose for what I do.

“I have goals and dreams for life after tennis, but I still have that internal fire and motivation. Really, all on my mind when I wake up is getting into my sports gear and going out and working to be a better tennis player.”

Sharapova takes a great deal of inspiration from Nadal, who is a 12-time champion at Roland Garros and has won five Grand Slams since turning 30.

“I'm in awe of his whole career. I think a lot of it is being really smart strategically about his schedule,” she said.

“From his point of view, he likes a lot of matches to feel confident, but you need to be healthy in order to do that, so you have to make the right decisions and that's certainly something that I can learn from him.”

The world number 131 is hoping to return to action at the Australian Open next year, but is aware she will have to manage expectations.

“I definitely look forward to going to Australia and seeing how things go, see how the body holds up there," she added.

“It's tough to tell, I've barely played any events last year. The start and stopping was one of the most challenging parts of the year as well, just when you think I got going a little bit I had to tone it down and stop and then just keep training. Although it seems I haven't played actually I've been working a lot.”