Maria Beats Henin to Seal Semi Spot

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova squandered three match points before posting a 6-1 6-7 6-8) 6-2 victory over former world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne to advance to the semi-finals of the WTA tournament at Key Biscayne in Florida. Maria appeared to be cruising into the final four when she led the 22-year-old Belgian 6-1 4-1

But Henin, playing in her first tournament of the year after a lengthy battle with illness was followed by a knee injury in January, dug deep. Maria served for the match at 5-4 in the second and led 40-0. But Henin forced the game to deuce and broke for 5-5 when the Russian double-faulted on break point. At that point, Maria Sharapova said, "You just keep fighting, keep being postive. "It's all mental. I was playing well until then, why can't I play well again?" Henin had a chance to claim the set in the 12th game, failing to convert four set points before finally levelling the match in the tiebreaker on her sixth opportunity. Maria dominated in the third, racing to a 3-0 lead and breaking Henin in the final game to wrap up the match after 2hr 17min. "I think we were both tired in the third," said Henin, who was nonetheless delighted with her effort after so long off the court.

NASDAQ-100 OPEN: An interview with: MARIA SHARAPOVA (March 28)

noticias.info/ THE MODERATOR: Questions for Maria, please.

Q. How did you see the match today inside the court?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I thought it went well. I was ready for a tough match because the last time I played her, which was in Tokyo, we had a really good second set, which could have gone either way. So I knew I had to be ready this time.

But I thought I did everything pretty well. I served well when I needed to, and I broke her.

Q. Would you like to have a more challenging match in this tournament?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think even ‑‑ it just seems like the score has been really easy. I think I've gotten a few challenges in a few games.

I'd rather win like this than have tough matches and physically be ‑‑ feel a little weak next round.

Q. I'm sure that you expect to win this tournament. Do you feel like it's a revenge of Indian Wells maybe?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't think about it as revenge. I just think about it as another tournament in which I want to perform really well and hopefully win.

Q. What happened in that match, what do you feel inside, what happened inside you in that match?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It was two things: One was that it just wasn't my day. I just wasn't able to find a way to fight, which I usually do even when I'm down, you know, a set and a break or two breaks. I usually find a way to open the door, and I don't think I found a chance to do that at all.

And one thing was that Lindsay was just playing too good, and I wasn't playing well at all. So, you know, when your opponent's hitting winners off both sides, it's hard to find a rhythm. Plus you're making errors when you get a chance to win a point. You know, that's not a great combination, so...

Q. Was it your confidence at some moment in the match?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: It wasn't about confidence. I felt pretty good going into the tournament. I had a big record, I won two titles before the tournament. It was nothing. I think it was just the day. It was just not my day, I mean. It's over, I don't really want to look back anymore.

Q. Who are your toughest opponents that you see in the tournament now?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't. I just try to focus one match at a time. I don't really try to focus on who I might play in the final or whatever. I think every opponent can be a challenge. You just have to be mentally and physically ready for it.

Q. I don't know if you answered this already, but were you aware that your countrywomen both just lost, Kuznetsova and Myskina?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I had no idea.

Q. You feel like you're holding the banner for Russia today?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, I hope so.

Q. What does that tell you about the depth of the talent on the tour, when two Grand Slam champions go down on the outside courts in the same day?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, you can't win every single day, that's just a fact. You know, it's impossible to win every single match, and it's one of those days where, you know, they lost. And, I mean, everyone's going to have a moment like that. There's only one winner in a tournament. So out of how many people in this draw, they're all going to be considered losers and only one's the winner. Unfortunately, that's just the sport we're in where, you know, you're either the winner, but the chance of that is slim, you know (laughing).
Q. I guess Kim Clijsters is a dangerous floater?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yeah, she's definitely back. She just won a title and is playing some great tennis. But, you know, after what she's been through and being injured so long, it's great to see her back.

Q. It's possible the Williams sisters will meet in the next round. Before you were like, you know, doing so well, as a fan, did you look forward to those matches, and do you feel like maybe the interest is not quite there as it used to be?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: To tell you the truth, I could care less (laughing). There are other things that I'm more worried about than that.

[FastScripts by ASAP Sports...]

Maria Sharapova were among Monday's fourth-round winners

Maria shut down 23rd-seeded Japanese Shinobu Asagoe 6-1, 6-2 in a pair of rain- delayed bouts on the hardcourts at Crandon Park Tennis Center.

Maria coasted to second-round Victories

Maria blasted Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, 6-0, 6-4, hit just eight winners in the victory, but Daniilidou helped out by uncorking 33 unforced errors.

Maria Sharapova Named Tennis Player of the Year — WTA

Maria Sharapova has become a three-time winner at the inaugural Pro Tennis Choice Awards on Tuesday night in Miami, a WTA Tour press-release says.

Maria was named the WTA Tour Player of the Year after winning her first Grand Slam event and claiming four titles. The 17-year-old Maria also received the Most Improved Player award and the Fans’ Favorite award.

Maria Ready to Bounce Back From Loss

On a humid, hazy spring morning, the start of the Nasdaq-100 Open was still an hour away Wednesday when Maria Sharapova settled into a chair, yawned and stretched her 6-foot frame. "It's too early," she said with a laugh. Maria had the day off because all seeded entrants received an opening-round bye in the 12-day event. The No. 2-seeded Russian will play her first match against Eleni Daniilidou, likely on Friday, and she'll try to bounce back from the worst loss of her career.

Maria lost 6-0, 6-0 to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open last week. It was an astounding drubbing for the reigning Wimbledon champion, who won just 23 points while committing 25 unforced errors. "That's just part of our sport. You're not going to be at your best all the time," Maria said. "I didn't really find a way to fight out there. Usually I find a way to get a rhythm in the match, and I wasn't able to do that. "It was good for me to take a few days off and forget about it."
Daniilidou earned a shot at Maria by beating Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Vera Douchevina defeated Emilie Loit 6-3, 6-3 and will next face Serena Williams, who is seeking her fourth consecutive Key Biscayne title. American Marissa Irvin eliminated Magui Serna 6-3, 7-5.
Maria enters the tournament with a record of 17-2 this year. Her only other loss came in the semifinals of the Australian Open, when she failed to convert three match points against Williams. "Whether I have three match points or it's 6-0, 6-0, it's a loss," Maria said. "I'm not going to win every single match in my career, but losses really motivate me." She needs to reach the semifinals next week to have a chance at a rematch with Williams. They met for the first time a year ago at Key Biscayne, and Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3.
"That was a whole year ago," Maria said. "I learned a lot, and it definitely helped me." Less than four months later, Maria upset Williams in the Wimbledon final. The Russian won again when they played in the final of the year-ending WTA Championships. "It has been an amazing year," she said. "Everything has happened so fast. I have been getting letters from people I never thought knew who I was — like Stella McCartney. It's a bit of a surprise."
McCartney, a fashion designer and daughter of Paul McCartney, has sent clothes to Maria Sharapova. There have been many other rewards and awards for her success, such as the WTA Tour Player of the Year honor Maria received at a banquet Tuesday. But barely two years after becoming a tour regular, Maria knows there's still room for improvement. Her most recent match provided a reminder. "Physically I have to get stronger," she said. "And there are a lot of little things I can improve — trying to use my advantages, such as my serve, to make my life easier on the court."

Maria on collision course at Pacific Life Open

Lindsay Davenport and Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova of Russia will play quarterfinal matches Thursday at the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open.

The top-seeded Davenport will encounter seventh-seeded Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy, while the third-seeded Maria will battle 20th-seeded French star Mary Pierce at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Maria battles into Pacific Life quarter-finals

Maria Sharapova had to call upon all her reserves to beat Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 4-6 6-2 7-5 in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open on Friday.

The world number three appeared to be cruising when 5-2 up in the third set, before the scrappy Zuluaga forced Sharapova into numerous errors, forcing her to use five match points to win the nearly two hour contest. "It was a big battle out there," said Maria, who will meet the winner of the Mary Pierce-Nadia Petrova match. "I basically committed suicide when I had those four match points, especially when I came into the net and stayed in the middle. "When you're not playing your best tennis, those are the matches where you finish, win or lose.
"But it's good to get through them, because I feel whenever I don't play that well, then the next day I come out and I do better and better." Maria said she had briefly flashbacked to her semi-final loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open, where she squandered three match points. "It comes back in your mind," said Maria Sharapova. "Like you had four match points before and you're up 5-2, you were playing so good and all of a sudden either she picked up her game or you just started going downhill. "But it's good to learn. I was frustrated when I got back to five-all, but then I pulled it together." Two other Russians, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova, set up a re-match of their 2004 US Open final when Dementieva beat Tatiana Golovin 2-6 6-4 6-4, while fifth seed Kuznetsova overcame Rika Fujiwara of Japan 6-3 6-2. "It's very good to have this kind of competition between us," Dementieva said. "I feel like I want to improve my game myself, because I want to be the best one."

Maria crushes Haynes

Maria Sharapova hit two aces and hammered 15 winners to beat Angela Haynes 6-1, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Indian Wells WTA/ATP Masters Series event in Indian Wells. Maria, who has already won two WTA titles this year, had six backhand winners to Haynes' none in the 67-minute match.

Haynes had three double faults and made 27 unforced errors and a sloppy first set featured five service breaks in seven games. The turning point of the match was when Maria Sharapova broke Haynes in the sixth game of the second set to go up 4-2. "The first match is never easy. You don't know what to expect," Maria said. "I don't play against too many girls ranked ahead of me because I am number three in the world so they have nothing to lose. "But I got a bit of a groove going and then I broke her three times in the first set. I took a chance and went for it on her third serving game in the second set and it paid off."

"The first match is never easy. You don't know what to expect," Maria said. "I don't play against too many girls ranked ahead of me because I am number three in the world so they have nothing to lose. "But I got a bit of a groove going and then I broke her three times in the first set. I took a chance and went for it on her third serving game in the second set and it paid off."
Maria Sharapova had a breakout season in 2004, establishing herself as a top level performer as she compiled a 55-15 record. This is her fourth consecutive appearance at Indian Wells and she is hoping to improve on her round of 16 result here last year.

LAUREUS SPORTS AWARDS - NOMINEES 2005

WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR:

Kelly Holmes (UK) - athletics
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) - athletics
Carolina Kluft (Sweden) - athletics
Maria Sharapova (Russia) - tennis
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) - golf
Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (Netherlands) - cycling

Maria chases No.1 spot

IF tennis beauty Maria Sharapova wins the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells and the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami in three weeks' time, she will have a good chance of taking over from Lindsay Davenport as world No.1.

The spotlight will then shine even more brightly on the Wimbledon champion, who will become the first Russian female to go top of the rankings. "When I was younger and getting attention, it seemed I was in the spotlight all the time,"Maria Sharapova, 17, said today. "People were expecting the best from me and they thought I would be the best. But I knew there was going to be a difference between thinking you are the best and actually being the best. "Now that I'm (world) No.3 and up there, I feel I deserved those compliments. "The No.1 ranking doesn't cross my mind every day. If I keep winning, I'll move up the rankings. As long as I'm winning, I'm in good hands."

Maria Sharapova has maintained this season the form that won her Wimbledon and the WTA Tour Championships in 2004, claiming back-to-back titles in Tokyo and Doha. The teenager has a 13-1 win-loss record this year, including victories over Davenport, Australia's Alicia Molik and fellow countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova. Her one defeat, by a 2-6 7-5 8-6 margin, came at the hands of eventual champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after Maria apova had held three match points. "I didn't take my opportunities," said Maria, who starts her Pacific Life Open campaign on Saturday against American Angela Haynes or Italy's Mara Santangelo.

"You have to take chances in tennis and if you don't, you lose. Serena has all the experience in the world but I'm getting there." Maria said the defeat hurt, although she was able to shrug it aside by going on a shopping spree the next day. "It's called retail therapy," she joked. The young Russian was surprised she was unable to close the match out and is hoping to avoid making a habit of it in the future. "There are a lot of matches I've looked back at that were so devastating to lose when they happened," said Maria. "But now I look back and say it was good to lose a match because I'm a better player because I learned from them." The tall blonde has seen her celebrity grow in leaps and bounds since she won Wimbledon and is refusing to allow her off-court appearances to distract her. "I've always wanted to be a top player," Maria said. "That's been my dream.
"But what comes with it can be celebrity and even if it has nothing to do with tennis, it's part of what I do, I have to accept it. "If I don't want to be a tennis player, I wouldn't have to accept these things and be that level of celebrity. It's something that comes with sport."

MARIA STILL RATED THIRD BY WOMEN'S TENNIS ASSOCIATION

Maria Sharapova is still one of the three leaders, according to a Women's Tennis Association rating. Just as last week, the Russian tennis player ranks third with 4,544 points.

Lindsay Davenport of the U.S. leads the rating. She is credited with 5,161 points, followed by French Amelie Mauresmo (4,890 points). Yelena Dementyeva became Russia's second best player this week. She had moved up from sixth to fifth position to pass Anastasiya Myskina. Dementyeva has 3,665 points, and Myskina, who is now placed sixth, 3,567 points. Svetlana Kuznetsova's standing remained unchanged in the new association's rating - she is ranked seventh with 3,338 points.

MARIA IS NOW RANKED SECOND IN WORLD WOMEN'S TENNIS ASSOCIATION'S RACE

Maria Sharapova took second place in the champions' race of the World Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

Serena Williams of the USA is heading the race. She boasts 1261.00 points, 60 points more than Sharapova. Lindsey Davenport of the USA with 1004.00 points is ranked third in this rating list.