TOKYO: Maria Sharapova won her first tournament since returning from a 10-month injury layoff when Jelena Jankovic retired because of an arm injury in the first set of the Toray Pan Pacific final Saturday
Sharapova was up 5-2 at Ariake Colosseum when the seventh-seeded Serb took a timeout to have her right arm examined by the trainer. Jankovic returned to the court and lost the first two points of the eighth game before retiring.
“It’s disappointing,” said Sharapova, who had arthroscopic surgery to repair a rotator cuff in her right shoulder nearly a year ago. “It’s toward the end of the year and there are a lot of injuries so I wish Jelena a speedy recovery.” It was Sharapova’s first win since Amelia Island in April 2008. Sharapova won her first tournament as a professional at the Japan Open in 2003 and won this tournament in 2005, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final.
Jankovic got off to a strong start, breaking Sharapova’s serve in the first game and taking a 2-0 lead. But Sharapova fought back and took control of the first set when she broke Jankovic to go up 4-2. Ai Sugiyama’s 17-year career on the women’s circuit ended with a loss in the doubles final. The Japanese veteran and Daniela Hantuchova lost to Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-2.
Venus hangs tough to advance
In Beijing, American Venus Williams survived a second set implosion to reach the second round of the $6.6 million China Open with a 6-2, 7-6 defeat of Russian Vera Dushevina on Saturday. The world No. 3 was the main attraction on the opening day of the WTA’s new “crown jewel” event and she served up a masterclass in grit and determination on the court where she won Olympic doubles gold with her sister Serena last year.
Far from faultless from the start, Williams nevertheless always looked like having too much raw power for the 47th ranked Russian and wrapped up the first set in less than half an hour with a couple of blistering aces.
After failing to muster a single break point in the first set, Dushevina then raced to 4-0 lead at the start of the second and left Williams shaking her head in disbelief at how her touch had so completely deserted her.
Williams has not won seven grand slam titles without knowing how to fight when necessary, however, and she dug deep to win the next five games and, after a brief Dushevina rally, claimed the tiebreak 7-1 when her opponent went long. She next plays another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Sybille Bammer of Austria 7-5, 6-1. Earlier on center court, French teenager Alize Cornet provided the upgraded tournament with its first upset by defeating 15th seeded Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
