Maria Sharapova ready to pick up where she left off
Good news for Maria Sharapova fans out there; after her long absence from the event, the tennis star will be returning to compete for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship title this season. The player hopes that the event will be the much-needed turning
point which will set her back in the right direction on the road to the top ranking again.
The managing director of the tournament, owners and Colm McLoughlin were also happy over the news and are all set to welcome Sharapova back to Dubai. “Maria is one of the true champions of the game and is highly sought-after by every tournament in the world.
We are thrilled that she is now free of her injury troubles and is able to join us once again at the DDFT Championship.”
The Russian beauty, who has come to be known as a s*x icon and a force to be reckoned with on courts, has been struggling with her form since a serious shoulder injury made her pull out of the WTA tour. Her nine-month absence from the tennis fields cost
the Russian her place among the world’s top 100 players. This has got to be frustrating for the superstar; however, she has maintained a positive outlook and says that despite all her struggles, she's just happy to be back in the game.
She told the reporters that her body was feeling the best and she was confident that her results would only go one way from where they are now up. Before she makes her way to Dubai, Sharapova is scheduled to play the Fed Cup and an event in Paris. These
tournaments might be just what she needs and may help her get in even better playing shape for the Dubai event.
Last season had proved Sharapova quite well and it had been one of the most successful seasons of her career. Before the shoulder marred her almost perfect season, the highest earning female athlete had won two titles in Memphis and Strasbourg. She then
went on to reach the finals of events in Birmingham, Stanford and Cincinnati. Now back in the top performing form, she plans to take things a step further this season and is hoping to make Dubai the first step toward this goal.
However, the Dubai event is not going to be a walk in the park. The Russian will be facing quite a strong challenge. In 2006, Maria defeated the likes of Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport before she finally fell victim to Justine Henin. If the player
wants to go in for the kill this time around, she needs to bring her top game to the courts.
This time around, she will be joined by some of the most competitive players in the game, including a whopping eight players' group from the world’s top 10 alone. These players include the current “Queen Bee” Caroline Wozniacki, the French Open champion
Francesca Schiavone, top Australian player Samantha Stosur, Australian Open finalist Li Na and the Russia’s number one Vera Zvonareva.
Talking about the field, Sharapova was reported as saying that she was not really surprised as Dubai has honed a reputation for itself for having a great playing field year after year.
At this moment, tickets are still available for fans who want to watch the Russian superstar live in action. “I hope my fans will see much the same Maria, someone who is going to fight for every point and have a nice Nike outfit on,” says Sharapova.
The tournament will be kicking off this coming “Valentine’s Day” on 14 February. Tickets to the event could perhaps make for a stellar gift idea if you’re one of those sports-buff couples.
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