Yuri Sharapov is a temperamental soul

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Yuri Sharapov is a temperamental soul

Yuri is a temperamental soul who blows his top during matches, flouts the rules by coaching his starlet daughter from the grandstand and gives short shrift to other Russian players and their parents.

His behaviour has been so off-putting that French Open champion Anastasia Myskina this week vowed to stand down from the Russian Federation Cup squad next year if Sharapova is selected.

"If she joins our team next season you won't see me there, for sure," world No .3 Myskina told a press conference in Moscow, where she is spearheading Russia's challenge for the Fed Cup.

Team captain Shamil Tarpishchev has said he would welcome 17-year-old Sharapova's inclusion next year. But his assistant, Larisa Neiland, admitted it would be difficult for Sharapova to fit into the team because of her "nasty father".

"Maria's main problem is her father and I just don't see how he would co-exist with other girls' parents and team officials," said the winner of 20 major championship doubles titles. "I remember a couple of years ago Capriati and her father had similar problems with the US team.

"You don't want someone from the outside to disrupt the team's preparations."

Referring to the recent WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, in which Sharapova beat American Serena Williams in the final, Neiland said: "Every time Maria was playing a Russian girl, her father's behaviour was simply outrageous, nasty and out of control. He basically tells everyone to get lost. I just don't see how he could work with the rest of us."

Myskina, who lost to Sharapova in the semi-finals in LA, added: "I totally agree with Larisa. I feel his behaviour is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him. He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her (in LA) and I thought he just might jump right on the court."

Sharapov received a warning from the chair umpire for coaching his daughter during the match.