September 26th, 2011
Maria Sharapova returns to the WTA Tour later today and starts her campaign to win a third Tokyo title when she takes on Tamarine Tanasugarn.
Sharapova won this tournament in 2005 and 2009 and loves the conditions at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. And after playing some excellent tennis over the summer, the Russian will be well backed to win this week.
Sharapova has gone through a resurgence this year, even challenging for the biggest titles on the clay courts that she used to detest so much. And after reaching another Wimbledon final as well as winning the Cincinnati title last month, she's once again back near the summit of the rankings.
With Caroline Wozniacki facing a mountain of points to defend over the next fortnight, a solid set of performances from Sharapova could see her poised to regain the top spot if Wozniacki slips up. She has a decent draw this week and is seeded to face the powerful but out-of-form Julia Goerges in the third round then Petra Kvitova in the quarters.
Although Kvitova outplayed Sharapova in the Wimbledon final, the Czech has barely been able to buy a win since.
Tanasugarn must not be underestimated, particularly in front of the Asian fans, and she enjoyed an impressive 6-4 6-4 opening round win over Czech Petra Cetkowska.
However, she's never come close to troubling Sharapova in any of their four matches so far, losing 6-1 6-3 when they met at the Australian Open back in January.
Prediction: Sharapova in straight sets. Resources : http://www.crunchsports.com
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