Sharapova beats Ivanovic to win Brisbane International
BRISBANE (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday in a display that bodes well for her chances at the Australian Open.
It has been seven years since Sharapova won her only Australian Open title but if she can take her form from Brisbane to Melbourne, a second title does not seem out of the question.
Sharapova had to work hard to beat Ivanovic, coming from behind to beat her 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 but the Serbian is a good measuring stick.
Sharapova not only beat Ivanovic in the 2008 Australian Open final but both women are in devastating form heading towards the first grand slam of the season, starting on Jan. 19.
"I played four good matches against very different types of opponents," Sharapova said. "I couldn't have asked for better preparation."
The Russian dropped just nine games in getting to the final while Ivanovic showed nerves of steel to see off her opponents to join Sharapova, ranked number two in the world.
It was a match that could have gone either way but Sharapova proved too strong once she got her nose in front in the deciding third set at the Pat Rafter Arena.
"She deserved to win the first set, no doubt, but I hung in there," Sharapova said. "It was important to get that break. I held that and the third set came down to a few points really."
Winning the Brisbane International provided Sharapova with her 34th WTA career title and her fifth in the last nine months, a red-hot span in which she also captured a second French Open and a first China Open.
The 27-year-old has won at least one title every year since 2003, an unbroken streak of 15 years.
For Ivanovic, who has begun a resurgence up the world rankings in the past year, the pain of losing was compounded by an abdominal strain which forced her to seek medical attention but is unlikely to disrupt her Australian Open campaign.
"I really thought it was a high quality match from the first moment on. There were not many unforced errors. We both played a high quality match I thought," Ivanovic said.
"Now it's about recovery and getting the best possible preparation for Melbourne. It's another event. This was great week for me, a great way to start the season."
Maria Sharapova goes into the Australian Open in red hot form and with Serena Williams' No.1 ranking in her sights.
At last year's BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Maria Sharapova had the opportunity - albeit a slim one - to reclaim the World No.1 ranking from Serena Williams.
Things in Singapore, though, did not exactly go to plan, a couple of round robin losses ending her hopes of the top spot and of lifting the trophy.
The setback does not seem to have dampened her spirit. In fact, judging by the Russian's social media posts from pre-season training, it has merely succeeded in making her work even harder.
And she did not have to wait long to reap the fruits of her labor; in the opening week of the new season, Sharapova breezed through to the final of the Brisbane International before producing a typically dogged performance to overcome an on-song Ana Ivanovic.
Her success in Queensland not only provided plenty of time on court ahead of the Australian Open, but also a put her within touching distance - 681 points, to be precise - once more of Williams' No.1 ranking. With 2,000 points up for grabs for the champion in Melbourne, a title for Sharapova will see her reclaim top spot for the first time since June 2012.
Doing so will be far from straightforward, though. The Australian Open, which Sharapova won in 2008, has a reputation for throwing the form book out of the window and this year's edition is as open as ever. In addition to traditional rivals such as Williams, Ivanovic and Petra Kvitova, Sharapova will have to contend with the ever growing number of WTA Rising Stars.
Twelve months ago, Eugenie Bouchard came to prominence thanks to a fearless semifinal run and her Hopman Cup showings - which included a handy win over Williams - suggest she is ready to contend once more. Simona Halep is likely to pose an even greater threat and, like Sharapova, warmed up for Melbourne with a title, in Shenzhen.
What's Maria Sharapova's been up to in Melbourne this week? Find out here. Also, look into the mind of a champion in Nike's latest video on the Russian megastar.
Nike Women Presents: Maria Sharapova
MELBOURNE, Australia - In the above video, Nike Women Presents: Maria Sharapova, take a glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest WTA champions, a five-time Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 who has come back time and time again in matches, from injury and more.
But while Sharapova is grinding it out preparing for what she hopes is Grand Slam title No.6, she's also been keeping very busy off the court in the lead-up to the Australian Open. It all began with herBrisbane International trophy shoot, and once she got to Melbourne she met the tournament's ball kids with Australia's own Thanasi Kokkinakis, and on Tuesday night the Russian attended the TAG Heuer Party at Ms Collins, getting some mixing lessons from Australian musical act NERVO.
Sharapova wore a Reed Krackoff dress, Kurt Geiger shoes, TAG Heuer watch and a Lanvin clutch.
SHENZHEN, China - Li Na, not just a trailblazer in the tennis world but an absolute megastar in China, made a very special visit to the Shenzhen Open on Finals Day, touring the grounds, meeting her fans, doing a series of media interviews, helping at the coin toss and handing out the trophies.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Li said. "This time is a little bit different - the last two times I was here I had to play, and now you can see me without my racquet, just walking around.
"Finally I can just enjoy watching the matches."
Li made a lot of breakthroughs for China in the 2000s, everything from becoming the first Chinese to win a WTA title, break the Top 20 in the world, reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal and more.
But in the 2010s she took it to a whole new level, becoming the first Chinese to break the Top 10, the first Asian player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2011, repeating the feat at the Australian Open in 2014 and, just a few weeks after that triumph Down Under, going as high as No.2 in the world, the highest-ranked Asian player in tennis history, male or female.
And Li's heroics in Shenzhen were woven into that story. She won the first two editions of the International-level event in 2013 (beating Klara Koukalova in the final) and 2014 (beating Peng Shuai in an all-Chinese final). She retired last fall so couldn't go for a three-peat at the 2015 edition.
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