Sharapova thrilled ahead of US Open comeback

 Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova says she's excited to be back on court and is looking forward to the chance to recapture the US Open crown, a title she won back in 2006.

Sharapova has gradually been regaining her form since returning from an eight-month shoulder injury lay-off and, at the recent Rogers' Cup, reached her first final since April, 2008.

"I'm just thrilled to be playing again. I missed the event last year. I was really disappointed, because I was missing that and the Olympics – it was a pretty, pretty tough season for me to be out, um, you know, it was in the midst of so many great tournaments that I could have been a part of, so to be here a year later and to be healthy and to be participating again in the tournament is wonderful," Maria Sharapova told AP news agency.

Maria Sharapova lobs new fashion designs

Tennis sensation Maria Sharapova may be known for her strong backhand and footwork, but she will soon supplement her fame with a new line of handbags and footwear.

Days shy of her appearance at the U.S. Open Championships, Sharapova made an appearance at New York''s Rockefeller Center to reveal her new line of bags and shoes designed by Cole Haan.

"It''s my hope that other young women will embrace the spirit of the collection; it''s fun, chic, fashionable and most importantly, able to take you from day to night," said the 22-year old tennis player.

Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Sharapova sponsor Nike, will include the sportswear manufacturer''s signature Nike Air technology in all of the shoes in the new fashion line, which includes boots, sandals and various other styles.

While the designs were created by Cole Haan designers, much of the inspiration was taken from sketches and mood boards produced by Sharapova, and they were designed to reflect Sharapova''s light personality and metropolitan lifestyle.

Sharapova is the latest of many celebrities to parlay their fame into fashion design projects. Even so, the only thing required for a career in fashion design is the drive to make it happen, which can be properly channeled and fostered with a fashion design education.

Tennis: Sharapova withdraws from Rogers Cup... again

MONTREAL — The good news is that Maria Sharapova showed up. The bad news is that she didn’t stick around for long.

The Russian tennis star, who was a late withdrawal from the Rogers Cup in 2006 and 2007, defeated Marta Domachowska of Poland, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 in a second-round match at the Jarry Tennis Centre Wednesday night.

But when Sharapova showed up for her post-match news conference, she began by saying she had withdrawn from the tournament because of a right shoulder injury that dates back to the Indian Wells tournament in March.

“I just spoke to a couple of doctors that are here (and) they advised me to really try to find the cause of the problem, sort of what’s causing my bursitis, because they think there’s something else behind it rather than just that,” said Sharapova, who received on-court treatment midway through the second set.

She said she planned to get an MRI today and then assess her future plans. She’s scheduled to play in the Olympics in 11 days.

Sharapova and Domachowska both struggled with their serves. Sharapova double-faulted 17 times, Domachowska had 13 and there were 12 service breaks in the two-hour, 55-minute ordeal.

Sharapova’s withdrawal gives unseeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan a free pass to Friday’s quarter-finals.

Dementieva tops Sharapova for Rogers title

(CNN) -- Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Maria Sharapova in straight sets on Sunday to claim the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Dementieva topped Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 to claim her 14th career singles title.
Sharapova came into the Rogers Cup tournament unseeded. But she defeated number seven seed Vera Zvonareva, number 10 seed Nadia Petrova and number 14 seed Agnieszka Radwanska at the Rogers Cup. The tournament marked Sharapova's first final appearance since returning to the women's tour in May after a nine-month injury layoff.
Sunday's victory was just the third career win by number four seed Dementieva against the Sharapova, and her first in three years.
"It was a really great week for me, though. Playing six matches was great leading up to the U.S. Open. This was really good preparation," Dementieva said, according to reports on the WTA Web site.

Maria Sharapova-News

Sharapova looms large

(UKPA) – 2 days ago

Unseeded Maria Sharapova continued her fine form in the Rogers Cup after dumping seventh seed Vera Zvonareva out of the competition to move into the last eight.
Sharapova looks a dangerous prospect in the draw and now has her sights on 14th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals.
Sharapova made light work of Zvonareva to win 6-2 7-6 (7/3), while Poland's Radwanska enjoyed a regulation 7-5 6-3 win over qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko.
Second seed Serena Williams eased through with a 6-1 6-4 win over Alona Bondarenko.
Czech Lucie Safarova awaits in the next round after she progressed with a 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 triumph over Jie Zheng.
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva also made it through but had to overcome the loss of the second set to Shahar Peer of Israel.
Australian Samantha Stosur, Dementieva's next opponent, had an easier ride in beating Virginie Razzano 6-3 6-1.
Alisa Kleybanova will face fifth seed Jelena Jankovic in the remaining quarter-final after the Serb ousted Kim Clijsters 1-6 6-3 7-5.

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