Published: 3 October, 2009, 11:34
Edited: 5 October, 2009, 04:00
Former tennis queen Maria Sharapova has won the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to claim her 20th career WTA title and the first one after her comeback to the sport.
The final in Tokyo turned out to be an easy journey for the 22-year-old Russian as her opponent Jelena Jankovic of Serbia was forced to retire due to a wrist injury, when Sharapova was leading convincingly 5-2 in the first set.
Maria’s previous win was at the Amelia Island tournament in Florida in April of last year. She had a shoulder operation last October and returned to competitive tennis only in May 2009.
“It's great to have that adrenaline again,” said the three-time grand slam winner, who came into the $2 million Tokyo event ranked 25th in the world.
“I've put in so much work. It's funny to win trophies after thinking maybe I might never be able to hit a tennis ball again.”