QUESTION
From your viewpoint, what went wrong?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Just didn't win the match. You know, bottom line.
Uhm, you know, certainly had my chances and just didn't execute. You know, I felt like I was -- when she was up and then I'd get back there, back in the game, I just didn't take advantage of that and let her, you know, let her control the situation again.

QUESTION
What are the challenges of playing someone you know so well and is a friend?

MARIA SHARAPOVA:
Uhm, I mean, when we go on the court we don't really think about that. We just go out and we try to play our game, you know. No matter how well you know someone or not, it's a new day and a new match, and you just try to go out there and perform.

Maria Sharapova's belated return to the Australian Open ended swiftly Monday when the former world number one was knocked out just hours after the first grand slam of 2010 began.

Sharapova, making her first appearance at Melbourne Park since winning the championship two years ago, lost to fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 7-6 3-6 6-4 on the Rod Laver Arena.

Unable to defend her title last year because of a shoulder injury, Sharapova was a shadow of the player who stormed to the 2008 title without dropping a single set, contributing to her own defeat with 66 unforced errors and 11 double faults.

Maria is into the last 16 at the China Open in Beijing after she grinded out a victory over #9 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belaurs.  Maria won 6-3 6-7 7-5 in 3 hours and 6 minutes to extend her winning streak to 7 matches.

In the 1st set, Maria battled back from 3-1 down to take the next 5 games to take the set 6-3.

Maria was again down in the 2n...

Maria Sharapova won her first tournament since returning from a 10-month injury layoff when Jelena Jankovic retired because of an arm injury in the first set of the Toray Pan Pacific final Saturday

Sharapova was up 5-2 at Ariake Colosseum when the seventh-seeded Serb took a timeout to have her right arm examined by the trainer. Jankovic returned to the court and lost the first two points of the eighth game before retiring.

Maria is through to the quarters of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo as she defeated Alisa Kleybanova of Russia.  Maria won 2-6 6-2 6-2 in 2 hours and 4 minutes.

Maria got off to a slow start as she dropped the first set 6-2 but she re-grouped and raced into a 5-0 lead in the 2nd set but at that point Kleybanova took a long injury time-out and came back to take the next 2 games, Maria held her nerve and took the 1 game she needed to win the set.  Maria kept up the pressure in the 3rd set as she took the set 6-2.

In the quarters to be played on Thursday, Maria will face Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.  They have played once before at Roland Garros on clay in 2006 and Maria won 6-4 6-1.

In the rankings, Maria provisionally moves up to #22 with 2080 points.