Tennis, Maria Sharapova | featured news

Maria Sharapova's life-changing move from Siberia to Florida as a seven-year-old propelled her on a path to fame and fortune but she says she would never turn her back on her mother country.

Maria Sharapova's stomach ache turned out to be nothing more than that. That lopsided loss she suffered at the Olympics — well, that may have only been a false alarm, as well. Playing her first match since a blowout loss to Serena Williams in London and a stomach virus that forced her out of two tuneup tournaments, Sharapova returned to tennis in fine fashion Monday at the U.S. Open.

Serena Williams turns her highly-anticipated match up with Russia's Maria Sharapova into a clinic on Centre Court. After Williams dominates 6-0, 6-1 in the final, she dances in celebration. Serena WIlliams became only the second woman to complete a career Golden Slam, winning the most lopsided women's final in Olympic history Saturday by beating Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1. The victory completed a remarkable run of domination by the No. 4-seeded Williams, who lost only 17 games in six matches en route to her first singles gold medal. She went 13-0 this summer at the All England Club, where she won her fifth Wimbledon title a month ago.

The shot that doomed Maria Sharapova on what was a manic middle Monday whizzed past at 108 miles per hour, a first-rate second serve that crowned her third Round of 16 exit at Wimbledon in six years. This loss, though — this was different.

Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2, to win the French Open and become the 10th woman to win a career Grand Slam.

Rafael Nadal moved closer to a record seventh French Open title and improved to 50-1 for his career at the tournament by beating 12th-seeded Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Maria Sharapova was nearly perfect in the first round of the French Open, winning all 12 games to produce a "double bagel."

Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final. Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova that showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon champion double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set. The 21-year-old Kvitova is the first left-handed woman to win the Wimbledon title since Martina Navratilova in 1990.

The women’s final at Wimbledon Saturday will lack the world’s No. 1 player, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, reduced to a competitive footnote by her early ouster.

Maria Sharapova crushed Dominika Cibulkova, advancing to a Wimbledon semifinal for the first time in four years. It took Sharapova less than an hour to beat Cibulkova, who upset Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1, 6-1. Afterward, Cibulkova couldn’t exit Centre Court quickly enough.