Maria Sharapova: It's not a pretty come back

Urghh... Sharapova looks terrible in these photos.

I don't know why but she keeps reminding me of Charlize Theron's character in that award winning movie Monster.

I guess Sharapova is a little disappointed after losing 6-1, 4-6, 10-7 in her first-round doubles match with partner Elena Vesnina against Ekaterina Makarova and Tatiana Poutchek, at Indian Wells.

Vesvina was the defending champion here last year with Dinara Safina.

“It feels very good to be back,” Sharapova said.

“I just wanted to test (the shoulder) out. I started training a couple of months ago. I just wanted to … test it out in a match situation and get a little different scenery than the practice court and play in front of the crowd, so that was exciting."

"The main goal for here was just to get out there and be in that atmosphere again."

“The hump I’ve got to get through right now is to put together two weeks of coming out to the court and playing two or three sets every day, and doing that for seven or eight days in a row. … Right now I’m able to do maybe three days or four days and then I have to take it easy on the fifth."

Even Sharapova herself wasn't sure where or when she would play again.

Now here are some prettier sights of Sharapova on court.

I miss her a lot! Hopefully she'll recover completely soon.


(Via AP, Images by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Russia dominates and wins Fed Cup final against Spain

Russia won its fourth Fed Cup in five years Sunday, defeating Spain when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title.

The victory gave Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the top team event in women’s tennis.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Kuznetsova said. “Even though I wasn’t playing my best game, it’s so important for me to win this point for the team.”

The Russians made it 4-0 when Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova downed Nuria Llagostera Vives and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-1 in doubles.

Kuznetsova used powerful ground strokes to race ahead 4-0 in the first set. Medina Garrigues regrouped to lead 6-5 and served out the set on a clear sunny day at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid’s clay court.

The players traded breaks to reach 3-3 in the second set before Kuznetsova won three straight games to even the match. She then got a late break in the third to secure the victory.

“She’s a player who puts great weight on her deliveries,” Medina Garrigues said. “I gave it my all.”

Kuznetsova was confident her stamina would carry her against an opponent who refused to wilt.

“I gave her a chance to get back,” she said. “I started to play a little bit of baseline tennis against her game. I felt so much more energy. knew my fitness was better.”

On Saturday, Vera Zvonareva beat Medina Garrigues, and Kuznetsova defeated Carla Suarez Navarro.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)