Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova has reportedly arrived in Brisbane for her first tournament appearance in the Australian Open’s warm-up tournament, the Brisbane International, along with her boyfriend and Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov and her team of staffers.
Sharapova, the world’s fourth-ranked female player, has entered one Gold Coast tournament and two Brisbane Internationals in her career, but her withdrawal during the 2013 event due to collarbone soreness was the closest she has come to playing a match in Queensland.
According to News.com.au, Sharapova flew in from Los Angeles on the same flight as Dimitrov, the Bulgarian player ranked No.23 who was runner-up in last summer’s Brisbane International.
The report mentioned that the former world No.1 has not played a tournament since August due to an injured right shoulder and limited herself to one exhibition match in Colombia earlier this month to test her recovery ahead of the Brisbane International and the Australian Open.
These will be her first tournaments since hiring as coach Sven Groeneveld after the Russian superstar had Thomas Hogstedt leave her camp and sacked Jimmy Connors as coach after one tournament during a frustrating 2013 season.
Sharapova and Dimitrov, the hottest couple in tennis, have been together a year and travelled to their city hotel in separate people movers, the report added. (ANI)