Maria Sharapova has exited the $220,000 Aegon Classic before having a chance to capture her first title of 2009.  The former No. 1 was eliminated after dropping straight sets to fourth-seeded Li Na on the grass-court of the pre-Wimbledon event.  Li won with 6-4, 6-4 in just under 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Sharapova has had a hard time with her most recent title occurring more than a year ago at the 2008 Bausch & Lomb Championships in Florida.
With the semifinals behind her, Li will now go on to face Magdalena Rybarikova in tomorrow’s finals.  Rybarikova advanced by defeating Sania Mirza 3-6, …read more

It was a rain-soaked day for the women at the Aegon Classic with the downpour actually stopping the match between Maria Sharapova and Alexa Glatch.  It was unfortunate for Sharapova, who is playing in just her third tournament since being sidelined for almost a year with a shoulder injury, since she twice held match point but was unable to close.  The younger Glatch definitely was holding her own on the court and it would have been great if the ladies had been able to finish.

Aleksandra Wozniak advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon warm-up by beating Olga Govortsova, 6-4, …read more