Maria Sharapova appeared to be on the verge of a great comeback after really struggling since her shoulder injury.  Any plans to progress to the finals at the 2009 U.S. Open were ended, however, when the Russian star lost to American teenager, Melanie Oudin.

The upset happened when the 70th ranked, Oudin, beat former No. 1, Sharapova, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.  Sharapova appeared to have the edge during the opening set but things quickly changed with Oudin found her rhythm.  When the match was decided, Oudin burst into tears with excitement.
The teen from Georgia is enjoying a great …read more

I don’t normally comment on what the players are wearing but it seems like Maria Sharapova’s clothing is always being talked about.  I usually ignore it but I had to say something this time.
She had been wearing this awful, ill-fitting dress and I really don’t know what Nike was thinking when they gave that to her.  I would have even refused to wear it, to be honest.  I thought it was hideous and most outlets felt the same way.

Today, at the 2009 U.S. Open, she debuted a new look and I’m so happy!  The black dress was a lot more …read more

I have to admit that, although Maria Sharapova has struggled this past year with her shoulder injury, I had predicted that she would beat Elena Dementieva during yesterday’s Rogers Cup final in Toronto but I was wrong.  The women have met 10 times before and Sharapova emerged the victor 80% of the time so I thought the odds were stacked in her favor but she really struggled and ultimately lost.

Both women were using the event as a warm-up to the U.S. Open which begins next week and I would say that Dementieva should feel very confident after beating Sharapova 6-4, …read more

Maria Sharapova will face Elena Dementieva in the 2009 Rogers Cup final, making it an all-Russian event.  I hope you got to catch the semifinals because they were extremely interesting, especially the match between Dementieva and Serena Williams.
Williams just couldn’t get it together and grew increasingly frustrated with every error she made.  Meanwhile, Dementieva was the picture of composure, which allowed her to overcome a 5-3 deficit in the first set.  After losing to Williams in the semis at Wimbledon, I wasn’t surprised at all by the Russian’s focus.  “I was really waiting for this match after Wimbledon,” Dementieva said.  …read more

It was a good day for Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at the Rogers Cup in Toronto yesterday despite the heavy rain and lightning.
The weather caused the match between Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva to be postponed for more than an hour but Sharapova was able to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over her compatriot.  This marks the first time that Sharapova has made it past the third round at the Rogers Cup so I’m sure she’s pretty excited considering the tough year she’s had.  I’m sure she wants to move away from being ranked 49th …read more

It was a tough day for Dinara Safina in Toronto.  Her serve betrayed her from the very start and she just could not seem to pull herself together.  Unfortunately, it cost her the chance of winning the Rogers Cup title.
Safina was eliminated by Aravane Rezai after committing 17 double faults.  She lost with a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.  The Rogers Cup has been interesting for the top-seeded players this year since Venus Williams was eliminated yesterday by Kateryna Bondarenko but, also, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both knocked out when they played in Montreal last week (okay, …read more

Maria Sharapova is off to a good start at the WTA Los Angeles Tennis Championship after being ousted in the quarterfinals at Stanford last week.  Sharapova easily beat Slovakia’s Jarmila Groth 6-0, 6-4 in the first round and will go on to play Victoria Azarenka.

While I’m sure Sharapova is disappointed about not making it further at Stanford, all of these matches are helping her get her game back as she recovers from a shoulder injury.  She’s really struggled this past year but she seems to be getting stronger and stronger with each appearance.
I hope she does well in Los Angeles …read more

Maria Sharapova has struggled since injuring her right shoulder but is now declaring herself “one hundred per cent” healed after surgery and added: “I mean, if I wasn’t at that point, I certainly wouldn’t be playing. That’s why I took my time and gave myself a chance to really go out there and to feel like I didn’t have any excuses.”  I’m sure she’s happy after a disappointing performance at Wimbledon last month.

Sharapova will play in the Bank of West Tournament next week, the Los Angeles Women event the following week and then will head to the U.S. Open on …read more

For the second year in a row, former No. 1 Maria Sharapova was eliminated at Wimbledon in the second round.  The 22-year-old Russian star won the tournament in 2004 but hasn’t been able to recapture that magic since.
Indeed, Day 3 was unkind to Sharapova who was eliminated by Argentina’s Gisela Dulko 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Centre Court in 2 hours, 13 minutes.  I’m sure Sharapova is beyond disappointed and frustrated with her performances recently (she’s lost three of her last five matches) but she was out with a shoulder injury for 10 months.  Maybe she just needs a little more …read more

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