Sharapova wins opening match in Italian Open

Russia’s tennis player Maria Sharapova defeated US tennis player Christina McHale on Monday by overcoming a slow start and eventually taking the win 6-4, 6-2 in her opening match at the Rome Masters.

The five-time Grand Slam winner went down a quick break in the first set before revving up to claim the opener while playing in her third event since last month’s end of a 15-month doping ban.

“It felt slow and the conditions are quite different to Madrid,” the three-time Italian Open champion. “It certainly took a few more games than I would have liked to get used to. But once I did, I felt like I took care of the second set quite well.”

The former number one advanced to the 2nd round at the sun-drenched Foro Italico as she beat McHale for a fifth time without defeat.

Sharapova came through a temporary setback, losing serve as she prepared to wrap it up while leading 5-1, but recovered in the next game to emerge the winner.

Sharapova is still waiting to hear if she will receive a wild card entry into Roland Garros starting a week from Sunday; that news will come on Tuesday, when she is otherwise engaged laying her second-round match.

“I’ll focussed on my match, I’m playing tomorrow,” Sharapova said; “But nothing is a disappointment after being away from the game for 15 months.”

“Winning matches will get me places, so if that’s where it got me today, then I will take it. The fact that I’m back and playing three weeks in a row now and three events in a row for me is a big deal. That’s my focus.”

Sharapova was banned for 15 months for using meldonium while other Tennis stars like US Serena Williams and Venus Williams were not banned for using banned substance.

Today May 16 results:

Venus Williams defeated Y. Shvedova 6-4, 7-6.
Q. Wang win against E. Vesnina 6-2, 6-4

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Sharapova Can Return to Tennis in 2017, Double Standards in Tennis Williams Sisters are also taking Illegal Substance

Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova, was given a reduce suspension after appealing her two-year suspension for a doping violation. Her suspension be reduced by 9 months, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said, ruling that the original penalty was disproportionately harsh for an infraction that Sharapova had committed unintentionally. The 29 years old five-time grand slam champion will be able to return to the sport in April 2017 after serving a 15-month suspension for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January. She can participate in the French Open and Wimbledon by that time. Under the earlier ruling, she would have been suspended until Jan. 25, 2018 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

The panel concluded that while she did commit a doping violation, she was not an “intentional doper.”

“I knew this was never the way I going to finish my career and I was going to do it on my terms… I never doubted that,” Sharapova told CNN.

There's a double standards in sports since Serena and Venus Williams were never banned or given suspension for doping and taking illegal substance. They even got a free pass, World Anti-Doping Agency allowed US tennis players Serena and Venus Williams to take banned substances because they are representing the U.S. No. 1 tennis player Serena Williams was allowed to take banned substances such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, prednisone and methylprednisolone in 2010, 2014 and 2015 which are can really give an athlete a huge advantage against their opponents.

Serena Williams beats Sharapova 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Top seed Williams wins 19th Grand Slam beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (5) at the Australian Open. Williams is now ahead of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova at 19 majors. She also won the U.S. and Australian Opens back to back for the 3rd time in her career and first since 2009.

Sharapova can't seems to beat Serena she is now 2-17 against her.

Sharapova Hires Groeneveld to coach Her

World number 4 Maria Sharapova got Sven Groeneveld to coach her for the 2014 season. She made the announcement on her Facebook page last Thursday.

"I'm happy to announce my official partnership with Sven Groeneveld," Sharapova said on her Facebook page.

"We've been working together since I got back on the court and after seeing him on the opposing side for so many years, I'm excited to have him become a part of my team. It has been a very seamless transition and I have had a lot of fun with the hard work we have put in so far. Looking forward to the year ahead."

Groeneveld had worked with Monica Seles, Mary Pierce and Ana Ivanovic.

Federer, Sharapova lose at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) - Roger Federer of Switzerland was beaten by Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in their Men's second round singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Wednesday, June 26, 2013.

Roger Federer is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and 17-time Grand Slam champion, while the man that beat him Sergiy Stakhovsky, is ranked 116th.

His 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) defeat against Sergiy Stakhovsky marked Federer's earliest Grand Slam exit in a decade.

He lost in the first round of the French Open on May 26, 2003, back before he owned a single trophy from any of the sport's most important sites..

The third-seeded Federer simply was unable to derail Stakhovsky's serve-and-volley style, breaking the 27-year-old Ukrainian only once.

Still, there actually was a real chance for Federer to get back in the thick of things. Ahead 6-5 in the fourth, he held a set point as Stakhovsky served at 30-40. But Stakhovsky came up with this sequence: volley winner, 111 mph ace, serve-and-volley winner.


Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, who lost 6-3, 6-4 to 131st-ranked Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal will join Federer on their way home; The other losers are, Caroline Wozniacki; Ana Ivanovic; Jelena Jankovic; Azarenka; and Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002.

All told, five players who have combined to win 26 Grand Slam titles headed home, along with another three who have been the runner-up at a major tournament.

Serena Williams win Sony Open final beats Sharapova

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 at the Sony Open. She earned a record of sixth Key Biscayne women's title Saturday.

Sharapova set a new standard for futility in finals. She completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open last year, and won Indian Wells two weeks ago, but she's now 0-5 in Key Biscayne finals.

Sharapova playing nearly flawless tennis for an hour, before her serve and groundstrokes began to lose steam.

At 31, the No. 1-ranked Williams became the oldest female champion at Key Biscayne. She won the tournament for the first time since 2008 and surpassed Steffi Graf, a five-time champion.

Sharapova didn't sound thrilled by the prospect, with good reason. She has lost 11 consecutive matches against Williams and hasn't beaten her since 2004.

Sharapova, Ferrer reach semi-finals in Miami

(Reuters) - Maria Sharapova beat seventh seed Sara Errani 7-5 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Open in Miami on Wednesday.

Serving at 4-5 in the second set of a see-saw struggle, the third seed Sharapova saved three set points before winning the final three games to end the two hour, 29-minute battle.

"She had her chances to win that second set. Who knows what would have happened," said Sharapova, a four-time Miami finalist who has yet to win the tournament.

"I'm lucky to get to the next one and have a chance to be in the semis again ... the great thing is that I pulled through. I worked hard. I was steady, and I gave myself a chance to get here."

Errani had four service breaks against Sharapova, who committed 14 double faults. But the 25-year-old Italian was even more vulnerable to the big-hitting Sharapova, who broke serve six times.

Sharapova, bidding for a rare double following her win at Indian Wells earlier this month, will play either 2008 runner-up Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or 15th seed Roberta Vinci of Italy in the semi-finals.

On the men's side, world number five David Ferrer overcame a sloppy start to defeat Austrian Jurgen Melzer 4-6 6-3 6-0 in their quarter-final.

Third-seeded Ferrer, who has already won twice this year after notching seven tournament wins in 2012, raced through the final set losing just four points on serve and committing only four unforced errors to finish with a flourish.

The loss ended a nine-match winning streak for 42nd-ranked Melzer, who won earlier this month in Dallas.

The Spaniard will meet the winner of Wednesday's later match between Germany's 15th-seeded Tommy Haas, who knocked out world number one Novak Djokovic, and French 11th seed Gilles Simon.

Sharapova cruises through as Azarenka withdraws and Robson loses

Maria Sharapova overwhelmed Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and didn't waste any time in a 6-2, 6-0 second-round victory in the Miami ATP Masters and WTA tournament.

Sharapova, seeded third even though her triumph at Indian Wells last weekend saw her jump from third to second in the world rankings, needed less than an hour to subdue the 19-year-old wild card.

Even a brief power outage that halted the match as the floodlights went out barely slowed her.

"It was a bigger surprise that it was all around the outer courts as well, not just the stadium," she said of the outage that plunged the court into darkness.

In the end however, it was just a small hurdle on a day when a three-hour rain delay had matches backing up.

"I was just trying to find a quiet corner where I could just rest and just wait it out," Sharapova said of her approach to the rain delay.

"I have been on the tour for many years and I have been part of a few delays ... you have to get out and just be ready, do a quick warmup, and be ready for the match."

Sharapova next faces 29th seed Russian Elena Vesnina, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Croatian Donna Vekic.

Victoria Azarenka, the Australian Open champion who is seeded second, although she's dropped to No. 3 in the world rankings this week, withdrew before her scheduled second-round match against US wild card Madison Keys with a right ankle injury.

Azarenka's withdrawal proved an unexpected bonus for American teenager Lauren Davis, who failed to qualify for the tournament.

She was given a 'lucky loser' pass into the event when Azarenka pulled out then saved three match points in defeating Madison Keys 6-1 5-7 7-6.

Britain's Laura Robson ranked a career-high of 43 in the world despite a 2013 win-loss record of 4-6 prior to her match against Cornet, dropped to a 5-7 7-5 6-1 defeat.

Robson, who won her first match since reaching the Australian Open third round in January in overcoming Camila Giorgi in the opening round in Florida, fell apart in the decider as the Frenchwoman breezed to victory.

Sixth seed Angelique Kerber reached the third round with a 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 win over Francesca Schiavone.

Having edged a tight first-set tiebreak, the veteran Italian then struggled on serve - with the German left-hander having little trouble in coasting through.

She will next play 28th seed Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian beat Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain 2-6 7-5 6-2.

Italian 15th seed Roberta Vinci lost an opening tie-breaker to American Christina McHale 7-2 but won the last two sets to win through 6-7(2) 6-1 6-3 in over two-and-a-half hours.

The 30-year-old three-times Grand Slam doubles champion will face Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round after the 20th seed beat Jamie Hampton of the USA in another three-setter.

Suarez Navarro was broken late in the first set but did likewise in the second before taking a final-set tie-break 7-3, triumphing 5-7 7-5 7-6(3) in two hours and 43 minutes.

Svetlana Kuznetsova won an all-Russian clash by ousting 18th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-4 to set up a third-round match with Ana Ivanovic, who beat Urszula Radwanska 6-2 6-1.

Fourteenth seed Maria Kirilenko continued her good recent form with a 6-1 6-4 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands while Jelena Jankovic, the 22nd seed, progressed 6-3 7-5 past Victoria Duval.

WTA Miami second-round results:

8-Sara Errani (Italy) beat Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-1

22-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) beat Victoria Duval (U.S.) 6-3 7-5

12-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Urszula Radwanska (Poland) 6-2 6-1

32-Alize Cornet (France) beat Laura Robson (Britain) 5-7 7-5 6-1

3-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 6-2 6-0

14-Maria Kirilenko (Russia) beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) 6-1 6-4

Simona Halep (Romania) beat 26-Tamira Paszek (Austria) 6-1 6-7(4) 7-5

11-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Zheng Jie (China) 6-3 6-1

28-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) beat Silvia Soler Espinosa (Spain) 2-6 7-5 6-2

6-Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2

21-Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) beat Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-3 7-6(3)

20-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Jamie Hampton (U.S.) 5-7 7-5 7-6(3)

Lauren Davis (U.S.) beat Madison Keys (U.S.) 6-1 5-7 7-6(7)

15-Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Christina Mchale (U.S.) 6-7(2) 6-1 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat 18-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-4 6-4

29-Elena Vesnina (Russia) beat Donna Vekic (Croatia) 6-4 6-2

Sharapova beat Venus to reach fourth round

MELBOURNE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova missed out on a third successive 'double-bagel' but humbled Venus Williams 6-1 6-3 to charge into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday.

The centre court crowd was left stunned as the second seeded Russian scorched to a 4-0 lead in the first set to rattle her American opponent, and charged on in the second to wrap up the match in 79 minutes on a chilly evening at Rod Laver Arena.

The 25th seed Williams sparked raucous cheers by breaking Sharapova and holding her serve late in the second set, but the Russian sealed the match with an ace and unleashed a fist-pumping shriek.

Sharapova will next play Belgian Kirsten Flipkens as she continues her bid for a fifth grand slam title and second at Melbourne Park. (yahoo news)

Williams VS Sharapova

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Serena Williams decimated Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the final of the WTA Championships last Saturday. Williams was unstoppable with a 6-2 6-1 victory and she will be up against Maria Sharapova in the finals.

Sharapova beat Victoria Azarenka, who will finish the year as No.1 in the rankings, with similar ease 6-4 6-2.

Williams has yet to drop a set in the showpiece tournament while Sharapova has only conceded one set.

Sharapova went into her match with Azarenka having lost four of their five meetings this year, including losing to her in three finals, but looked much fresher on Saturday inside the Sinan Erdem arena.

Azarenka, who had sealed the year-end number one ranking by advancing to the semi-finals, lacked her normal power and foot speed and was no match for Sharapova who broke the Belarussian's serve twice in the first set with some vicious returns.

The four-times grand slam champion raced out to 4-0 lead in the second set, fought tooth and nail to win a 24-point game to go ahead 5-1, and then easily held to win the match.
"I give Maria all the credit. She played really well," Azarenka said. "Could I play better? Yeah, I could have moved better for sure. But I have no regrets. I finished the first time a loss with a smile."

Sharapova has advanced to the WTA Championships final for the first time since 2007. She won her sole title at the event in 2004 when she beat Williams, which is the last time she beat the American.

source yahoo

Azarenka defeated Cornet 6-1, 6-0 advances at China Open

BEIJING - Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka and No. 2 Maria Sharapova beat their opponents and both advanced to the second round of the China Open on Monday.

Azarenka convincingly beat Alize Cornet of France 6-1, 6-0, while Sharapova struggled but still pull through against Simona Halep of Romania 7-5, 7-5.

Azarenka is hoping to rebound from last week in Tokyo, where she withdrew after feeling dizzy in the third round. Azarenka has won four times this year, including the Australian Open. Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title in four years at the French Open.

Source: yahoo sports (AP Photo/Andy Wong)