WTA Tennis- Sharapova Won Title in Tokyo after 10-Months Away

by Ally White

Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova finally (re-)experienced success after a 10-month layoff from tennis. The unseeded Sharapova took the title at Saturday's Pan Pacific Open final after 7th-seed Jelena Jankovic retired in the first set due to a wrist injury. Her withdrawal did not, however, bring joy to Sharapova, who wanted to win the final through her own efforts. Nevertheless, the Russian understood the need for withdrawal; the tennis star had had surgery on her should last October, not returning to tennis until May.
The title is Sharapova's first since her surgery and the 20th of her career. Her last title was attained in April of 2008 at Amelia Island.

Sharapova got off to a rough start; the Servian Janovik began strong, breaking her Russian opponent's serve and taking a 2-0 lead. Sharapova, however, rallied and took the next four games. By the time Jankovic took a timeout to have her right arm examined by her trainer, Sharapova had taken the lead in the first match 5-2. The Serb managed just two more points after the medical timeout before deciding to withdraw.

After Jankovic left the court, Sharapova expressed her disappointment but nonetheless hoped for the Serb's quick recovery.

"It was a tough start today. Jelena started off so strong. It's disappointing. It's toward the end of the year and there are a lot of injuries so I wish Jelena a speedy recovery. It was my second final of the year and I was a bit nervous. But I played well enough this week to know I could give her a good match. I just wanted to keep fighting out there and unfortunately Jelena had to stop," said the Russian.

Tokyo is the place in where the 22-year-old Russian attained her first WTA singles and doubles titles, at the 2003 Japan Open.

With this most recent victory, Sharapova is looking forward to her last event of the season at the Beijing tournament, where she hopes to play in top form. After Beijing, Sharapova will prepare herself for the offseason, during which she will train even harder for a strong 2010 performance.

"I have one more tournament left in Beijing. During the off-season, I'll be training and working on my game. It's going to be really a good time for me to create a good base. Actually I have a good enough time to prepare for the next year. I'm really looking forward to the period," Sharapove said.

Jankovic, on the other hand, will try to rehabilitate her arm before the Beijing tournament, but also said that her entry would depend on her doctor's advice. If a short-term recovery becomes unlikely, she will prepare herself for the offseason.

The best of luck to these two great tennis players; hopefully both players will be able to demonstrate their great superb athletic skills at Beijing and prepare for an even better year next season.

About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copy writer for the international tennis championships as well as the top ranking sportsbetting:www.instantactionsports.com/uk Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

Top Ten Women Tennis Players Ranking

1. Safina Dinara ( RUS ).

2. Williams Serena ( USA ).

3. Williams Venus ( USA ).

4. Dementieva Elena ( RUS ).

5. Kuznetsova Svetlana ( RUS ).

6. Jankovic Jelena ( SRB ).

7. Zvonareva Vera ( RUS ).

8. Azarenka Victoria ( BLR ).

9. Wozniacki Caroline ( DEN ).

10. Petrova Nadia ( RUS ).

Top Ten Men Tennis Players Ranking

1. Nadal Rafael ( ESP ).

2. Federer Roger ( SUI ).

3. Murray Andy ( GBR ).

4. Djokovic Novak ( SRB ).

5. Del Potro Juan Martin ( ARG ).

6. Roddick Andy ( USA ).

7. Simon Gilles ( FRA ).

8. Verdasco Fernando ( ESP ).

9. Tsonga Jo-Wilfried ( FRA ).

10. Gonzalez Fernando ( CHI ).

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships - Superb Set

by Peri Witny

The Super-Serb trio of Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic has captured the fantasy and imagination of the tennis fanatics, and all three will be showing their talent in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships title started from 15th to 28th of this month.

Both Jankovic and Ivanovic have already increased to world number one position, and there is little fear that Djokovic is ready to participate in this event in the distant future.

Ivanovic has showed excellent performance in her top 100 debut in the year 2004 after her four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events and following Wimbledon in 2005. In this way she was declared a player who crashed into the world's top 20 in tennis history first time. Bizarrely, in that season got victory over Hungary's Melinda Czink in the final game of qualifying round held in Canberra and before this, she has already defeated her again in the final to win her first career title.

These online live tennis scores will bring moments of great relish for tennis lovers. Her performance delight public and media alike with her alluring smile and exciting online tennis score continuously enhanced her ranking. After wining second title in Montreal in 2006, and three more in 2007, she had succeeded to sweep all her opponents. Recently Grand Slam championship is waiting for her marvelous performance as Ivanovic has able to lift the title of French Open trophy last summer with striking victory over Dinara Safina. That resounding triumph has given Ivanovic her first crown of Grand Slam crown and elevated this tennis star to world number one position.

In The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship, top tennis players are participating for glory and high ranked position at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. Organizers and owners of this championship have maintained this tournament to promote tennis within UAE. This event forms a major part of the game that invokes thousands of tennis fans to devote their time for live tennis score coverage.

This Tennis Championships is going on held under the supervision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai ,Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE started at Sunday, 15th February 2009 event and continues till the start of ATP tournament from Monday, 23rd to 28th February. If you really want to enjoy these memorable Tennis results moments, you need to set your schedule in accordance to the matches held in this event. These exclusive matches really makes your expectation fulfilled which you may expect from your tennis heroes.

About the Author
Live Scores by ScoresPro.com There are various online sites from where you can get latest updates of live matches held on different days, if you do not find any good one, just log on to ScoresPro.com to get latest Tennis livescore.

ATP-Tennis Ranking For Men

1. Roger Federer ( Switzerland )

2. Rafael Nadal ( Spain )

3. Novak Djokovic ( Serbia )

4. Nikolay Davydenko ( Russia )

5. David Ferrer ( Spain )

6. Andy Roddick ( USA )

7. Richard Gasquet ( France )

8. Mikhail Youzhny ( Russia )

9. James Blake ( USA )

10. David Nalbadian ( Argentina )

ATP-Tennis Ranking For Women

1. Justine Henin ( Poland )

2. Ana Ivanovic ( Serbia )

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova ( Russia )

4. Jelena Jankovic ( Serbia )

5. Maria Sharapova ( Russia )

6. Venus Williams ( USA )

7. Anna Chakvetadze ( Russia )

8. Daniela Hantuchova ( Slovakia )

9. Marion Bartoli ( France )

10. Serena Williams ( USA )