Maria Sharapova won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this weekend. It’s her first title since coming back from shoulder surgery this May, after a nearly ten month long injury layoff. Her last title came at Amelia Island in April, 2008.
It was her opponent, Jelena Jankovic, who suffered from shoulder problems, retiring at 2-5 down in the first set.
“It’s never easy to win a match like this.“ Sharapova said afterwards. “Obviously, it’s very important for Jelena to be healthy and we want to compete at our 100%.” (via BBC)
At this point in the year, Maria may be benefiting from having had a shorter season than the other pros. But regardless of how she won it, getting this title is a comeback confidence booster. (Not a Clijsters-sized boost, of course, but at least the trophy’s nice.)
Loading ...And Maria still has enough gas in the tank to take part in the inaugural “Maria Sharapova South American Tour,” a series of three exhibition matches vs. Gisela Dulko, scheduled for late November/early December in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. She will reportedly make close to a million dollars in appearance fees. (via Tennis Week)
Tags: Jankovic, Japan Open, Sharapova, tennis, Tokyo, Toray Pan Pacific Open, WTA
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I'm happy for Maria, she is now #15 in the rankings.
this is the 4th time i'm trying to post my comment, the page keeps reloading automatically!
all i have time to say is that i am very happy for maria too. she would have won even if jj wasn't injured. she was the stronger player and it's nice to see her getting better, with her hard work paying off. i also like the trophy!
i give up. i had some more things to say, but the site is being weird. hope it's just me and not a blog issue ff. thanks.
Hi, it's actually happening to me too! What's going on???
Hey Judy, not sure what's going on on your end, but hopefully its fixed.
Also i know you and a few others have had issues with this newer commenting system.
I would highly recommend opening an account with Intense Debate.
http://intensedebate.com
The commenting system won't filter out, or auto-delete commenters with higher ratings.
We're also considering allowing some of our frequent commenters be moderators on GTT.
Maria is the best.
No matter how she won because she was going to do anyway,
with or without Jelena 100%
Go Masha! Go Masha!
Maria <3 Congratulations on Title #20!
Great come back. Congratulations.