Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis/ Sharapova triumphs, Sugiyama retires

After Maria Sharapova's injury-shortened victory in the singles final left Japanese tennis fans hungry for more Saturday afternoon at Ariake Colosseum, Ai Sugiyama hoped to brighten the mood with a doubles win in her farewell match as a professional.

Unfortunately, that feel-good story just wasn't in the cards this week as Sugiyama and her partner Daniela Hantuchova fell 6-4, 6-2 to Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone in the Toray Pan Pacific Open doubles final.

"Now I can go back to having a normal relationship with my mom," said Sugiyama, 34, who has been coached by her mother Fusako. "I'm really going to miss good friends like Daniela, Kim (Clijsters, her longtime doubles partner), Francesca. I will also miss the energy and tension of the matches.

"I've been so busy lately that I haven't really had much time to think about what life after tennis will be like," added Sugiyama, who leaves the game with six career singles titles and 38 doubles championships on her resume.

Earlier Saturday, unseeded Russian Sharapova continued her successful run in Japan with a win over seventh-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic in the singles final. Sharapova was up 5-2 in the first set when Jankovic called the trainer courtside on the changeover for some medical attention on her right arm.

Jankovic lost the first two points of the eighth game before calling Sharapova to the net and retiring, leaving the 9,500 fans sitting in stunned silence. The anti-climactic ending capped a bizarre week for organizers, who saw U.S. Open finalist Serena Williams pull out shortly before the tournament began and then watched as the top six seeds all went out at the first hurdle.

Sharapova's triumph in the battle between two former world No. 1s capped a stirring comeback for the long-legged Russian, who was 25th in the WTA rankings heading into this event. Sharapova underwent shoulder surgery last year that sidelined her for 10 months and this was her first title since stepping back on the court. And it came at a venue where she has done exceptionally well over the years.

"I don't know what it is, but I do have good memories from this court," said Sharapova, who won her first professional title at the 2003 Japan Open on these courts as a 16-year-old and who has now lifted four championship trophies at Ariake. "I felt like a little girl back then.

"Good things do happen for me here, but hard work adds a bit of luck in the end."

Still only 22, Sharapova has three Grand Slam titles to her name and Saturday's win marked her 20th career WTA singles title. It didn't, however, come under ideal circumstances.

"I'll certainly take it," said Sharapova, when asked about her abbreviated afternoon. "I wanted to give it my all in the last match of the tournament and that's what I did.

"I felt like I was improving with every match I played here," continued Sharapova, who pocketed $350,000 (31.4 million yen) for her efforts this week. "I was able to come through--I stepped it up and played aggressive and I'm proud of the work I put in here. After losing early in a Grand Slam (in the third round to Melanie Oudin at the U.S. Open last month) I didn't put my head down and go on vacation. I came out and worked hard and it paid off."

Jankovic, the current world No. 8, said she hurt her arm during Friday's semifinal victory over China's Li Na.

"It started (to hurt) yesterday during my match," said Jankovic. "It was very humid, which made the ball really heavy. The pain started in my shoulder and moved down into my wrist. My wrist is swollen and I have no power to hold the racket."

Both Sharapova and Jankovic were next due to play the WTA event in Beijing, which got under way Sunday, but the injury leaves Jankovic's plans up in the air.

"I hope I can recover for the Beijing tournament but we'll see," Jankovic said. "Injuries are just part of the game."(IHT/Asahi: October 5,2009)