Crowd favourite Maria Sharapova captured her first title since her injury lay-off by beating Jelena Jankovic to win the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Saturday.
|Last Updated: Oct 03, 2009, 02:17 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Tokyo: Crowd favourite Maria Sharapova captured her first title since her injury lay-off by beating Jelena Jankovic to win the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Russian, who returned to action in May after a right shoulder injury, won the battle between the former world number ones to regain the title she won in 2005, when the Serbian seventh seed retired with an arm injury at 5-2.
"It was very tough because Jelena started off so strong. It was my second final of the year, so I was a little bit nervous," said Sharapova.
"I wanted to perform really well. I feel like I played good enough tennis to give her a go today and I just wanted to keep fighting out there."Sharapova found herself 0-40 down in the opening game, which she lost two points later, hitting a backhanded drop shot wide.
She then went 0-2 down before moving into top gear, hitting an array of power-packed strokes and aggressive service returns to take the following four games in a row.
Jankovic, who needed court-side treatment to her right arm in the semi-finals on Friday, took a medical time-out for the same injury at the beginning of the eighth game.
But Jankovic abandoned the match when she went down love-30.
"It started yesterday during the match I guess because the roof was closed and it`s very humid in there. The ball got really heavy. I started to feel pain in my shoulder, then it was going down to my wrist," said Jankovic.
She said her wrist was now swollen and she had no power to hold the racket.
"I don`t know what happened there. But it is a new injury, started yesterday. I tried my best... but I would just get weaker and weaker and there was more and more pain. Unfortunately, I had to stop. I couldn`t finish it.”
"Hopefully, I will recover for the (China Open) tournament in Beijing, which is really important for me. But we will see," added Jankovic.
Meanwhile, Sharapova said: "It`s never easy to win a match like this. Obviously, it`s very important for Jelena to be healthy and we want to compete at 100 percent.”
"It`s very difficult for her to perform at her best right now. We have gotten a lot of injuries. This is towards the end of the year. I wish Jelena a speedy recovery," she added.
Sharapova`s fifth win against Jankovic in seven meetings earned her the 350,000-dollar top prize.
For Sharapova, who claimed her first career WTA singles and doubles titles at the 2003 Japan Open on the same court, it was her first title since Amelia Island in April 2008, and 20th overall, four of them in Tokyo.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.