Vinci unimpressed with Sharapova wildcards

March 10: Racquet manufacturer Head stands with Sharapova, and offers to extend her contract.

With Williams, she has endured her most testing rivalry – on and off the court. “I don’t understand.” She shook her head, shrugged her shoulders, lent generously to the drama.

Sharapova is officially eligible to make her comeback on April 26 this year.

Roberta Vinci of Italy will be Maria Sharapova’s first opponent on the Russian’s return from a drugs ban after the two were drawn together in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Likewise, Mattek-Sands’ compatriot Lepchenko’s serving of a silent ban for four months in the same time-frame as Sharapova, and for failing her drug test for the same drug as Sharapova necessitated the ITF to put an end to its long-standing practice of utilising silent bans a way to keep the player camouflaged from deeper introspection.

‘I don’t agree about the wildcard here and about the wildcard in Rome and the other tournaments, ‘ said Vinci. “Personally I don’t have nothing against her”.

With her return days away, Sharapova’s agent Max Eisenbud made a decision to break his silence after these comments from Radwanska.

She is also a silver medal victor of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2008 Federations Cup champion. “I think the same as Andy Murray”, Radwanska, who has beaten Sharapova only twice in 15 attempts, said.

“I can not support what the tournament director did, but also I can not judge”, said Halep, who is seeded fourth and plays Barbora Strycova in the second round. “But I have to play on Wednesday against her”. From previous meetings (both on hard), Vinci generally does not pose a huge problem against Sharapova, but it might all be different on Wednesday evening as the head to head record will not play a part in the match since Sharapova’s level of play would be unpredictable. But most importantly, I am so happy to share being No 1 in the world with you – once again today’. “It’s a tough tournament, I’m excited to play against Maria”.

The Russian was originally suspended from playing tennis for two years from the sports anti-doping body WADA last summer, however, the two-time French Open victor had her sentence reduced to 15 months last October after a successful appeal. (AP Photo) Sharapova flew into the picturesque city, spread across hills and dotted with parks and vineyards in the weekend.

The German sports auto giant is the lead partner of the Stuttgart event and also sponsor Sharapova. “It’s better for me”.

“This clay is fast”.

At the same time, it also bears acknowledgement that Sharapova’s wild card recipiency is backed by the WTA norms.

Vinci said she expected “a lot of the crowd on Wednesday to be (cheering) for her”. She has been practising here at a private club in the Stuttgart suburbs as she is not allowed into competition venues during her ban.

She still had time to win the 2008 Australian Open before a second shoulder injury kept her off tour for the second half of the season, including missing the US Open and Beijing Olympics.