MADRID - The world's two top female players, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, will battle it out for the number one ranking when they meet in the Madrid Open final on Sunday after both came through Saturday's semi-finals in straight sets.Current number one Williams sealed her place in the final ...

MADRID - Rafael Nadal overcame a stiff test from compatriot David Ferrer to reach the Madrid Masters semi-finals Friday while Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova stayed on course for a mouth-watering title showdown.World number five Nadal pulled off a roller-coaster 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0 win over ...

MADRIDMaria Sharapova survived a sticky start to move into the second round of the WTA Madrid Open on Monday with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania.The Russian, who won the French Open on clay last year, brought a 16-match winning streak on the surface into Madrid and was strongly ...

    STUTTGART     Defending French Open champion Maria Sharapova claimed the Stuttgart WTA title on Sunday, beatingChina's Li Na 6-4, 6-3 in just over 90 minutes to get her clay-court season off to a winning start. Having been taken to three-sets in all of her previous three ...

  STUTTGART     Defending champion Maria Sharapova on Saturday booked her place in the final of the Stuttgart WTA tournament after seeing off Germany's Angelique Kerber with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory in yet another three-set tussle. The 26-year-old Russian has also been taken to three ...

  STUTTGART   Defending champion Maria Sharapova had another tough battle on Friday as she booked her place in the semi-finals ofStuttgart’s WTA tournament with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 quarter-final win against former world number one Ana Ivanovic. The 26-year-old Sharapova, who is using ...

    STUTTGART   German car maker Porsche on Monday made what some might consider to be a surprising announcement. It's first global endorser would be a woman. The brand, which is dominated by male buyers, chose tennis player Maria Sharapova to be the face of its company for the next ...

INDIAN WELLS - Maria Sharapova reached her first final of 2013 on Friday, beating Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-3 in a semi-final slugfest to set up a title showdown with Caroline Wozniacki at Indian Wells.By reaching the final, Sharapova is projected to rise one spot to No. 2 in the world when the new ...

INDIAN WELLS - Maria Sharapova progressed to the semi-finals at Indian Wells on Wednesday with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 victory over Sara Errani in a rematch of last year's French Open final.The Russian beat the Italian in the Roland Garros title match last year to complete a career Grand Slam and again ...

INDIAN WELLS  - Maria Sharapova didn't need too much time out in the chilly wind at Indian Wells on Friday, sweeping into the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Francesca Schiavone.The second-seeded Russian dropped her first service game as they traded breaks in the first three games, ...

BRISBANE  - Reigning French Open champion Maria Sharapova was forced to withdraw from the season-opening Brisbane International on Tuesday with a right collarbone injury."I had a bit of inflammation in my collarbone and I sent it to my doctor in New York and he told me I couldn't really do ...

BRISBANE  - Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams will be fit to play at the Brisbane International, which begins this weekend, after injury scares, organizers said on Thursday.French Open champion Sharapova pulled out of an exhibition match against Caroline Wozniacki scheduled for Friday in ...

ISTANBUL  - Maria Sharapova is not convinced it is a good idea to give first round losers at next year's Australian Open a huge pay increase as part of a $4 million rise in overall prize money.Tournament organisers announced earlier this month that the total prize money pool at the opening ...

BEIJING  - World number two Maria Sharapova overcame home favourite Li Na in straight sets on Saturday to make the final of the China Open, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga triumphed in the last four of the men's draw.The 25-year-old Russian defeated Li, Asia's only Grand Slam winner, 6-4, 6-0, to ...

TOKYO  - Two-time champion Maria Sharapova finally found some rhythm to dispose of stubborn Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic and reach the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday.The French Open holder from Russia, who needed more than three hours to beat qualifier Heather ...

TOKYO - French Open champion Maria Sharapova came from a set down to beat qualifier Heather Watson of Britain on Tuesday for a place in the third round at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.But there was no such luck for the fourth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who became the biggest ...

MOSCOW : Russian tennis icon Maria Sharapova, third seed for next week's US Open, has launched her own brand of sweets. The 25-year-old, who won this year's French Open and was a silver medallist at the London Olympics, has called the line "Sugarpova" and includes sweets in the shape of a tennis ...

LONDON - As Maria Sharapova posed with the French Open trophy against the breathtaking backdrop of the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower, the Russian's thoughts turned from her stunning surroundings in Paris to a small patch of grass in south-west London where she hopes to cap her remarkable return ...

PARIS - Maria Sharapova defeated Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first French Open final on Thursday and reclaim the world number one ranking.The Russian second seed will tackle Italian 21st seed Sara Errani in Saturday’s final.Earlier, Italy’s Sara Errani crushed ...

PARIS  - Maria Sharapova stormed into the French Open last 16 on Saturday, brushing aside China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 6-1, while semi-final rivals Li Na and Petra Kvitova laboured to reach the second week.Second seed Sharapova fired 27 winners past 28th seed Peng in a 66-minute Philippe Chatrier ...

STUTTGART - Russia's Maria Sharapova beat world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in the Stuttgart clay court final on Sunday to claim her first WTA tour title of the year and end a two-match losing streak against the Belarussian.Sharapova, ranked second in the world, outplayed Azarenka, who ...

STUTTGART - Tennis diva Maria Sharapova says she is relishing making her Stuttgart debut here as the clay-court season gets under way with the statuesque Russian up against all four grand slam winners.The 25-year-old has added Stuttgart to her usual WTA clay-court events in Rome and Madrid as she ...

MOSCOW - A short haircut by Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova provoked a backlash among fans after she posted pictures of the new style on her official Facebook page.The three-time Grand Slam winner has remained a blonde, but most of her earlier long hair is now gone, and the new haircut finishes ...

MIAMI - Three-time runner-up Maria Sharapova booked her second straight Miami final Thursday, rallying to beat disgruntled Caroline Wozniacki and set up a title clash with Agnieszka Radwanska.Sharapova clinched a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 semi-final victory over the Dane after two hours, 34 minutes, the match ...

MIAMI - Serena Williams, saying she felt nervous and rusty, made a triumphant WTA return from a left ankle injury, defeating China's Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at the WTA and ATP Miami hardcourt event.Fellow former World No. 1 players Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki also ...

INDIAN WELLS  – Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova rallied to defeat fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the Indian Wells semi-finals Thursday.Sharapova needed three hours and five minutes to dispatch Kirilenko in their first meeting since the opening round ...

PARIS - Top seed Maria Sharapova crashed out of the WTA Paris Open in the quarter-finals on Friday after falling 6-4, 6-4 to German ninth seed Angelique Kerber.Sharapova had breezed past Kerber in straight sets en route to the Australian Open final last month but the 24-year-old exacted sweet ...

MELBOURNE  - Victoria Azarenka refuses to accept that Maria Sharapova's greater experience could be the defining factor when they meet in the Australian Open women's final on Saturday.The 22-year-old Belarusian will be playing her first major final while Sharapova will step out on Rod Laver ...

MELBOURNE - Former champion Maria Sharapova and Belarus's Victoria Azarenka will fight for the Australian Open title and the number one ranking after winning nerve-wracking semi-finals Thursday.Russia's Sharapova gained sweet revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat to Petra Kvitova, after Azarenka ...

The newcomer played as if she belonged, and by the time this one-sided womens final ended, Maria Sharapova was not the only Wimbledon champion on the grass of Centre Court. Petra Kvitova had never played a Grand Slam singles final before, but she gave barely a hint of her inexperience or nerves, ...