Sharapova plays down U.S. Open chances

Maria Sharapova has downplayed her chances of winning a second U.S. Open crown this year after returning from shoulder surgery but believes she can go on to regain the world number one spot.

"With every tournament I feel physically I'm getting better and getting a good sense of the court but it's still a work in progress," the three-times grand slam winner told Reuters in an interview ahead of the final major of the season which begins on Monday.

"I'd like to forget I was gone for a long time but you have to put things in perspective."

The 22-year-old Russian, who only returned to singles action in May after a nine-month layoff, said while she would certainly give the U.S. Open her best shot and was "absolutely" sure of climbing back to the tennis summit.

"I'm a competitor and have played many tournaments and won quite a few," said Sharapova, who first claimed the world number one spot in 2005. "You want to be the winner and if someone tells you otherwise they wouldn't be telling the truth."

While the Russian has not won any titles since her comeback, she has beaten world number seven Vera Zvonareva, eighth-ranked Victoria Azarenka and number 13 Nadia Petrova and seems to be improving every week.

The Russian reached the LA Championships semi-finals and on Sunday lost the Toronto Cup final to compatriot and world number four Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-3.

"I think it was a really great week for me," Sharapova said. "Playing six matches was great leading up to the U.S. Open."

She fondly recalled her title run at the 2006 U.S. Open, where she beat Belgium's Justine Henin in the final.

"Winning my second major took quite a bit of time," said the 22-year-old, who won her first aged 17 at Wimbledon in 2004.

"Justine was playing really well but my game had been building and it was one of those matches where I came in without a big game plan because I felt like if I was going for my shots I had a chance," she said in an interview arranged by WTA sponsors Sony Ericsson. Last October, Sharapova had her shoulder operation and did not return to singles competition until May in Warsaw.

Her record is 22-7 since her return, pushing her world ranking up to 30th and guaranteeing a seeding at the U.S. Open.

During her seventh months of rehab, Sharapova, whose last grand slam title was the 2008 Australian Open, thought back to her great wins, which aided her recovery.

"I go back to the tough days when I wasn't feeling great or wasn't thinking straight and still managed to pull it together," she said. "I think about how I was able to turn it around."

While her ground attack and return game is sharp, Sharapova is not consistently hitting her serves at pre-surgery speeds due to a new, abbreviated motion and is frequently double faulting.

Reuters

Maria Yuryevna Sharapova

Mariya Yur’evna Shara’pova is a former World No. 1 Russian professional tennis player and three time Grand Slam singles champion.As of August 23, 2009, she is ranked World No. 30.

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Country: Russia

Date of birth: April 19, 1987

Height: 1.88 m

Weight: 68.5 kg

Turned pro: April 19, 2001

Career prize money: US$12,633,659

Career titles: 19

Highest ranking: No. 1 (August 22, 2005)

Current ranking: No. 30 (August 24, 2009)

Grand Slam results

Australian Open: W (2008)

French Open: SF (2007)

Wimbledon: W (2004)

US Open: W (2006)

Major tournaments

WTA Championships: W (2004)

Doubles

Career record: 23–17

Career titles: 3

Highest ranking:

No. 41 (June 14, 2004)

Australian Open:

2R (2003, 2004)

US Open: 2R (2003)