Maria Sharapova pulled into Linsanity

Not even tennis superstar Maria Sharapova can escape Lin-sanity.

Sharapova was on a conference call Friday afternoon to talk about her upcoming match against Caroline Wozniacki at Madison Square Garden on March 5 in the BNP Paribas Showdown.

Of course Sharapova was asked about Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin, who has helped lead the team to seven straight wins and is averaging 24.4 points per game during the winning streak.

"I was part of Fashion Week for a couple of days and he didn't quite make it to fashion week," Sharapova said.

But Sharapova said she noticed the extensive media coverage surrounding Lin while in town.

"It's pretty incredible and I'm sure he's enjoying all of that," she said.

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam winner and current No. 2 player in the world, also discussed how tough the season will be with the Olympics being sandwiched between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

"It's probably going to be the toughest schedule for us," Sharapova said. But she added later, "It's a very exciting year for all of us."

Sharapova was also asked how she feels now in her career as opposed to how she felt prior to having shoulder surgery in October 2008, which sidelined her for almost 10 months.

Sharapova hasn't won a Grand Slam title since the 2008 Australian Open, but she advanced to this year's Australian Open final, losing to Victoria Azarenka.

"In the last year, I've taken a step further in a good direction," she said.