Sharapova faces strong field in Tokyo

TOKYO — Crowd favourite Maria Sharapova returns to Tokyo where she won her first career WTA title six years ago to face a strong field at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament.

Twenty five out of the top 30 players in the world will take part in the two-million-dollar event, which gets under way on Sunday on the outdoor hard courts at the Ariake Coliseum.

Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams withdrew with knee and toe injuries, joining Amelie Mauresmo of France with a stomach pain and Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia with a side injury.

Sharapova, the Russian former world number one who won the 2003 Japan Open singles and doubles titles for her first titles on the centre court here, suffered a right shoulder injury that saw her withdraw from the Australian Open.

Sharapova, currently ranked 25th this week, came back in action in May and reached the quarter-finals at the French Open, the semi-finals at Los Angeles and the final at Toronto.

It will be her first appearance on court since her surprise third-round defeat to up-and-coming American Melanie Oudin.

Sharapova, also the winner here in 2005, will play Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the first round, while the top eight women, led by defending champion Dinara Safina of Russia, will receive the first-round byes.

Sharapova was drawn in the same quarter with top-seeded Safina, another Russian Vera Zvonareva, Virginie Razzano of France and Australia's Samantha Stosur.

Also in the upper half were French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Second seed Venus Williams will lead the bottom half, which includes Beijing Olympic champion Elena Dementieva of Russia, former number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Serbian Ana Ivanovic, China's Li Na, Marion Bartoli of France and Italy's Flavia Pennetta will challenge the top four players in the bottom half.

It will be the last tournament for former world doubles number one Ai Sugiyama of Japan, who has announced her retirement. Sugiyama will play 13th seed Petrova in the first round.