Maria Sharapova sounded a confident note ahead of her return to competition at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
With some solid practice sessions under her belt she says she is feeling healthy after recovering from the leg injury which has kept her off the court since Wimbledon.
“Obviously I have missed playing in many tournaments in the last few months and as I was getting healthy and preparing and training, this tournament worked out really well in my schedule and there is no reason why I wouldn’t play.
“I didn’t have the best result at this tournament last year and that is definitely something I would like to change this week.”
With a bye in the first round, her first match opponent is either Barbora Strycova or Timea Babos.
“You can never underestimate an opponent, whether seeded or not. There is not an easy match and I believe many of the top 20 are here so you know there is going to be top quality tennis. You can’t look at any match and say that will be an easy match.”
Earlier in the day Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova took some time out to visit the Dolphin Research Facility in Wuhan where she was able to shake hands and help feed a dolphin. Pavlyuchenkova is big fan of the animals, having swam with them previously in Miami, and she was given a warm welcome by all the staff and guests who turned out to greet her.
RESULTS – SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Women’s Qualifying Singles – Second Round
Qualifying – [14] T. Babos (HUN) d [3] A. Tomljanovic (CRO) 76(1) 67(2) 62
Qualifying – [4] J. Goerges (GER) d [10] A. Konjuh (CRO) 36 64 64
Qualifying – [5] H. Watson (GBR) d [15] Y. Putintseva (KAZ) 62 64
Qualifying – [16] M. Duque-Mariño (COL) d [6] C. Mchale (USA) 16 62 62
Qualifying – [7] J. Konta (GBR) d [11] I. Falconi (USA) 62 61
Qualifying – [12] L. Davis (USA) d [8] M. Linette (POL) 64 76(4)
Qualifying – [13] D. Kovinic (MNE) d Y. Wang (CHN) 64 76(4)
Qualifying – P. Tig (ROU) d [WC] Y. Xu (CHN) 62 63
First Round
Qualifying – P. Tig (ROU) d [1] M. Barthel (GER) 64 62
ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
CENTRE COURT start 12:30 pm
V. Lepchenko (USA) vs [WC] S. Zheng (CHN)
[12] E. Svitolina (UKR) vs [WC] D. Hantuchova (SVK)
[Q] L. Davis (USA) vs V. Azarenka (BLR)
M. Niculescu (ROU) vs [WC] F. Liu (CHN)
COURT 1 start 11:00 am
S. Stosur (AUS) vs M. Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
[Q] J. Konta (GBR) vs [13] A. Petkovic (GER)
A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs S. Kuznetsova (RUS)
A. Cornet (FRA) vs [Q] J. Goerges (GER)
COURT 3 start 11:00 am
D. Gavrilova (RUS) vs T. Pereira (BRA)
B. Strycova (CZE) vs [Q] T. Babos (HUN)
L. Tsurenko (UKR) vs C. Vandeweghe (USA)
COURT 5 start 12:30 pm
[WC] C. Liu (CHN) / Z. Yang (CHN) vs A. Kudryavtseva (RUS) / O. Savchuk (UKR)
S. Errani (ITA) / F. Schiavone (ITA) vs [5] R. Kops-Jones (USA) / A. Spears (USA)
Singles Main Draw
First Round
[1] S. Halep (ROU) d Bye
A. Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs. S. Kuznetsova (RUS)
[Q] L. Davis (USA) vs. V. Azarenka (BLR)
[Q] J. Konta (GBR) vs. [13] A. Petkovic (GER)
[10] A. Radwanska (POL) vs. V. Williams (USA)
A. Cornet (FRA) vs. [Q] J. Goerges (GER)
M. Niculescu (ROU) vs. [WC] F. Liu (CHN)
[7] C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) d Bye
[3] P. Kvitova (CZE) d Bye
D. Gavrilova (RUS) vs. T. Pereira (BRA)
Z. Diyas (KAZ) vs. I. Begu (ROU)
[Q] D. Kovinic (MNE) vs. [15] R. Vinci (ITA)
[12] E. Svitolina (UKR) vs. [WC] D. Hantuchova (SVK)
V. Lepchenko (USA) vs. [WC] S. Zheng (CHN)
S. Stosur (AUS) vs. M. Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
[8] K. Pliskova (CZE) d Bye
[5] G. Muguruza (ESP) d Bye
A. Riske (USA) vs. S. Stephens (USA)
M. Brengle (USA) vs. D. Cibulkova (SVK)
A. Dulgheru (ROU) vs. [9] A. Ivanovic (SRB)
[14] M. Keys (USA) vs. M. Rybarikova (SVK)
[Q] P. Tig (ROU) vs. K. Mladenovic (FRA)
[Q] M. Duque-Mariño (COL) vs. A. Schmiedlova (SVK)
[4] C. Wozniacki (DEN) d Bye
[6] A. Kerber (GER) d Bye
J. Jankovic (SRB) vs. [Q] H. Watson (GBR)
T. Pironkova (BUL) vs. C. Giorgi (ITA)
E. Bouchard (CAN) vs. [11] B. Bencic (SUI)
[16] S. Errani (ITA) vs. C. Garcia (FRA)
L. Tsurenko (UKR) vs. C. Vandeweghe (USA)
B. Strycova (CZE) vs. [Q] T. Babos (HUN)
[2] [WC] M. Sharapova (RUS) d Bye
The official websites for ticket sales are www.wuhanpen.org / www.4008702014.com or call +86 400 870 2014
About the 2015 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open:
Optics Valley International Tennis Centre, Wuhan, China
WTA Premier 5 event
Qualifying Sept. 25 & 26 – Main Draw Sept 27 – Oct 3, 2015
Prize Money: US$ 2,513,000
56 Singles Main Draw, 32 Qualifying Draw, 28 Doubles Draw
Topics: Maria Sharapova, Tennis News, Wta, Wuhan Open
Great news that @MariaSharapova is fit and will be back soon! http://t.co/kaJVDohL4l (news via our good friends @10sBalls_com)
RT @ElenaFoundation: Great news that @MariaSharapova is fit and will be back soon! http://t.co/kaJVDohL4l (news via our good friends @10sBa…