Maria named Russia's best

Maria Sharapova and Nikolay Davydenko have been named Russia's best players in 2005, the country's tennis federation announced at its annual award gala on Saturday.

This year, Maria became the first Russian woman to take the world number one spot and she also reached semi-finals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in addition to winning three WTA singles titles.

Maria edges out Davenport

Defending champion Maria Sharapova survived a second-set lapse to beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 here Thursday, joining the American world No. 1 in the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championships.

"I'm so excited I could go out and play a match and not have to think about my injury," said Maria, who has battled nagging pain from a strained right pectoral muscle for months.

"I played solid tennis. I played smart. I took out her strengths."

Maria won her opening match on WTA Tour Championships

Maria Sharapova opened her bid for a repeat in the three million-dollar tournament over Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder.

Maria’s playing was far from even but she managed to regain control at the crucial points to win 6-1 3-6 6-3, as a result. Maria’s rival in the Green Group contest is Lindsay Davenport, who easily overcame Nadia Petrova of Russia (6-2 7-6 7-1) on the same day.

WTA Tour Championships get underway on Tuesday

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The season-ending $3 million WTA Tour Championships will get underway with a trio of round-robin matches Tuesday in Los Angeles, as Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova will all take to the court at the Staples Center.

The coveted year-end world No. 1 ranking is on the line this week, as the American Davenport and Belgian Clijsters will decide who finishes atop the ledger. Both players will be in action on opening night, as the U.S. Open champion Clijsters will encounter U.S. and French Open runner-up Mary Pierce in the event-opening bout, while the Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up Davenport will face Russian Nadia Petrova, who is making her WTA Championships debut, in the nightcap. One other match will pit the defending champion Maria Sharapova against Swiss lefty Patty Schnyder.

The 22-year-old Clijsters is 3-0 lifetime against the resurgent 30-year-old Pierce, including a lopsided 6-3, 6-1 victory in the U.S. Open final in September, while the 29-year-old Davenport has yet to lose to the 23-year-old Petrova in six career meetings, including a semifinal victory at Amelia Island earlier this season.
The 18-year-old Maria Sharapova and 26-year-old Schnyder have split two career matches, with the Swiss capturing their lone meeting this year on red clay in Rome.
The former world No. 1 Clijsters captured this lucrative event back-to-back in 2002 and 2003, while the current No. 1 Davenport won the tournament back in 1999.

Maria Sharapova prevailed in last year's elite eight-woman field here by topping Serena Williams in the final. Maria, who also bested Williams in last year's Wimbledon finale, is the only player other than Davenport to hold down the No. 1 ranking this year.

This year's field also features last week's Philadelphia titlist Amelie Mauresmo of France and Russian Elena Dementieva. Round-robin play will be the order of the day here from Tuesday through Friday, while the semifinals will be held on Saturday, followed by a Sunday night title match.

A four-player "Green Group" features Davenport, Sharapova, Schnyder and Petrova, while a four-player "Black Group" consists of Clijsters, Mauresmo, Pierce and Dementieva ... The 2005 WTA Championships winner will collect $1 million, while the runner-up will pocket $500,000


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