Maria Sharapova Out Of Olympics, US Open
08.31.2008 NEW YORK-- Maria Sharapova of Russia said Friday that doctors were to blame for giving her an incorrect diagnosis, which deprived her of a chance to play in the U.S. Open and Beijing Olympics.

The 21-year-old tennis player withdrew from the WTA Rogers Cup in Montreal in late July because of a shoulder injury after a marathon second-round win over Marta Domachowska of Poland. A scan revealed two small tears in her right shoulder. She later said: "It hurts me so much to miss the Olympics and the U.S. Open. I think this will be the first grand slam I have ever missed."

"I had been playing with the pain for a rather long time," Sharapova said on her Russian-language website. "Even in everyday life, during sleep, I felt it [the pain]."

The Russian tennis star is currently doing extensive rehab and strength work in Arizona. The treatment is due to last several months.

"I knew that this was more than just inflammation. It's a pity that the doctors failed to make the correct diagnosis," Sharapova said, adding that the right diagnosis would have shortened the recovery time. Sharapova is now No. 5 in the Women's Tennis Association world rankings, just below Russia's Elena Dementieva who won an Olympic gold medal in the final of the women's singles in Beijing.

Maria Sharapova Set For Lindsay Davenport Rematch
04.12.2008 AMELIA ISLAND-- At the Bausch and Lomb Championships Saturday top seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia meets 16th seeded Lindsay Davenport of the USA in the women's semfinals. Sharapova leads Davenport 5-1 head to head but would rather forget her lopsided 6-0, 6-0 2005 loss to Davenport. In their last meeting in January at the Australian Open second round, Sharapova beat a flat Davenport 6-1, 6-3. Full Story

Maria Sharapova Into Amelia Island Third Round
04.10.2008 AMELIA ISLAND-- Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova Thursday in the third round takes on 15th seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain. Head to head Sharapova leads 1-0 and if she can move well on the clay and keep her errors down, Sharapova should win. In 2005 at the Italian Open in Rome, Sharapova defeated Garrigues 6-4, 6-2. Sharapova is 17-1 this year on the WTA Tour.

Maria Sharapova To Meet Ana Ivanovic In Final
01.24.2008 MELBOURNE-- Thursday at the Australian Open (Wednesday night USA) Maria Sharapova defeated third seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals, to move into the final versus 4th seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Head to head Maria is tied with Ivanovic 2-2 and won their last encounter at the 2007 WTA Tour Championships 6-1, 6-2.

Maria the last two weeks has been in devistating form with powerful but precise groundstrokes and serves. Ivanovic is also playing well so it could be a difficult match for Maria. "You have your bad moments in your career and you have your good moments, and it's been a good ride so far," said the Russian. "But it's not over yet.
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Maria Sharapova Shocks Justine Henin, Into Semifinals
01.22.2008 MELBOURNE-- Tuesday at the Australian Open (Monday night USA) Maria Sharapova defeated world number one Justine Henin of Belgium, 6-4, 6-0, snapping Henin's 32 match winning streak. Maria displayed her best tennis since winning Wimbledon, while Henin was slowed by a knee injury. Maria's improved serve and power groundstokes were impossible for Henin to stop.

In the seminfinals Maria plays Jelena Jankovic(3) of Serbia. Head to head Maria leads Jelena 3-1, but lost their last meeting last year at Birmingham 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

In round three Maria defeated Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-0. In the fourth round Maria beat Elena Dementieva(11) 6-2, 6-0. Sharapova has only lost nine games in her last three matches.

Maria Sharapova Proves Critics Wrong With Davenport Win
01.17.2008 MELBOURNE-- Wednesday at the Australian Open in the second round, Maria Sharapova proved some of her toughest critics wrong by defeating former world number one and comeback mom Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3. Sharapova had been picked to lose by a number of tennis writers before the match, but throughout the match Sharapova moved better and played more solidly than Davenport. Maria also did not make nearly as many errors as Lindsay.

In round one Maria defeated Jelena Tosic 6-4, 6-3 and next plays fellow Russian glamour girl Elena Vesnina. Maria has never played Vesnina before, but should win if she can stay aggressive. Should Maria advance further, she could meet world number one Justine Henin in the quarterfinals and defending champion Serena Williams in the semifinals.