AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Former No. 1 Maria Sharapova is confident of reclaiming a place among tennis’ top-ranked players and says winning another Grand Slam after battling shoulder injuries “would be the greatest achievement of my career.”
Sharapova says her decision to bypass lucrative exhibition tournaments in Australia to play in the ASB Classic in New Zealand underscores her determination to lift her world ranking.
The 25-year-old Russian, ranked 18th, will be in a field that includes countrywomen Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova and defending champion Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium at the WTA tournament, her first in 2011.
