Maria Sharapova's Serve, Williams' Precision Does Her In
01.27.07 MELBOURNE -- In a match that was over hardly before it started, Maria Sharapova lost to Serena Williams ranked 81 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open final in only 63 minutes. Maria had a major let down with her serve and only managed to hold 3 times for her lone games won. Maria also made 13 errors to only 12 winners. One overhead Maria hit into Serena's body which seemed to motivate Serena to play even better than she was at first. Williams made only 11 errors and hit more than double (28) the winners Maria hit.
Australian Open: Schedule Of Play | Singles Draw | Seeds | TV Schedule

Maria Sharapova To Face Serena Williams In Australian Open Final
01.25.07 MELBOURNE -- Wednesday night USA time, Maria Sharapova defeated Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the semifinals 6-4, 6-2 and faces Serena Williams in the final. It could be a thriller! Head to head Serena is tied with Maria 2-2 and won their last match right here in Melbourne in the semifinals after saving a matchpoint two years ago 2-6 7-5 8-6 in a thriller of a match. As I remember Maria and Serena both were striking the ball extremely hard, but Serena mixed in some net play and loops to win. After the win, Serena engaged in a huge jumping up and down over and over. The good news is Maria is playing better than she was two years ago, while Serena is not playing as consistent as she was back then. But all in all I think Serena's 85% is better than most's 100% so I'm picking Serena to beat Maria in three sets as I did before the tournament started. Maria will need to bring her best tennis to the table if she wants to stop a red hot Serena Williams, and hope Serena makes more errors than winners. FULL REPORT

Maria Sharapova Plays Australian Open Quarters Tonight
01.23.07 MELBOURNE -- Tonight at the Australian Open at 6pm CST USA, Maria takes on 12th seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the first match on Rod Laver Arena. Matchup information is below. Should Maria win, she would face the winner of the match being played immediately after hers; Kim Clijsters versus Martina Hingis, in the semifinals. I picking Maria to beat Anna tonight in three sets.

01.22.07 MELBOURNE -- In the round of sixteen Sunday night USA time at the Australian Open, Maria Sharapova defeated fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-4. Maria plays yet another Russian 12th seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals Tuesday night USA time. Head to head Maria leads Anna 2-1 with the "defeat" coming in Moscow 2006 when Anna won by a walkover (Maria injury withdrawal before the match). In the last match between the two that was actually played, Maria won 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in Los Angeles 2005. In other news Maria will reclaim the WTA Tour would number one rankings next week.

01.21.07 MELBOURNE -- Maria Sharapova tonight at 2.30am CST USA time takes on fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva at the Australian Open round of sixteen. Head to head Maria leads Vera 3-2, last winning 6-4, 6-4 at San Diego last year. In the third round Maria defeated Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 6-1.

01.16.07 MELBOURNE -- Maria Sharapova defeated 62nd ranked Camille Pin of France at the Australian Open first round Tuesday (Monday night USA time) 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 after leading 5-0 in set three. Maria battled 100 degree heat of the Melbourne summer and Pin's backboard type style of getting balls back to win and advance to round two where she will face fellow Russian 100th ranked Anastassia Rodionova. Head to head Sharapova leads 2-0 last winning 6-3, 6-1 last year in Los Angeles. Sharapova on the Melbourne heat: "It's inhumanly possible to play three hours in that kind of heat. I don't think our bodies were made to do that. I was so delusional I couldn't think."

01.15.07 MELBOURNE -- Maria Sharapova plays 62nd ranked Camille Pin of France at the Australian Open first round Tuesday (Monday 6:00pm CST USA.) Maria has never played Pin before. Maria has a pretty good draw and may not face a tough match until possibly the semifinals where she possibly would meet either Kim Clijsters of Belgium or Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

01.14.07 MELBOURNE -- Maria Sharapova was seeded number one for this week's Australian Open, the first of tennis' four yearly major tennis tournaments called grand slams. Maria will be one of the heavy favorites. The main singles draw was also released and Maria faces Camille Pin of France in round one.

01.06.07 HONG KONG -- At the Watson Water Challenge exhibition Saturday, Maria Sharapova lost to Kim Clijsters of Belgium 6-3, 7-6(10-8) in the final. Some errors from Maria and solid play from Clijsters may have been the difference in the match. "You're never going to guarantee a win in every single match," Maria said. "At some points in the match I felt a little bit flat. I'd like to get myself going. Other than that, I'm happy with the match I played here." Sharapova defeated Elena Dementieva 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals Friday. Mara will not play this week as she does not fancy playing tennis tournaments a week before grand slams. One of tennis' top four tournaments, the Australian Open begins January 15th in Melbourne, Australia.
Hong Kong: Main Draws | Schedule/Players

01.04.07 HONG KONG -- Maria Sharapova, the top seed at the Watsons Water Challenge, a yearly exhibition to be played January 3-6, in round one Thursday defeated Yan Zi of China 7-5, 6-3. In doubles, Maria and Patty Schnyder lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Kim Clijsters in round one 9-8 (7-4). The exhibition is one of several warm up tournaments for tennis' first of four grand slams, the Australian Open which begins January 15th in Melbourne, Australia. Tomorrow Maria plays in the semifinals fellow Russian Elena Dementieva. Elena's game is deceptively good. You see her serve and think "she's dead" but her groundstrokes are very good and yes her serve is slow, but consistent so Maria will have her hands full in the match. No WTA Tour rankings points are being awarded for play this week as this is an non-WTA exhibition tournament.

01.03.07 MIAMI -- Maria Sharapova has signed with PepsiCo Inc. to endorse two of their products: Gatorade and Tropicana. The deal is scheduled to be announced today. Financial terms have not been disclosed. The deal includes a global hydration campaign and a starring Garorade ad to launch early this year. Sharapova's estimated annual total income is $30 million.