Today at Warsaw Open, Maria Sharapova was playing her first singles match since August 2008 and the much-missed three-time Grand Slam champion won 6-1 6-7(6) 6-3 against Tathiana Garbin of Italy.

The 22-year-old Russian has seen her world ranking slump to No.126 during her absence because of a shoulder injury. It wasn't too encouraging, but even today she wore a criss-crossed bandage on her right shoulder.

Sharapova secured her place in the second round of the claycourt tournament despite being taken to the deciding set. Wild card Sharapova looked well on her way to win the match, having four match points at 5-3 and 40-0 in the ninth game of the second set, but she allowed the 68th-ranked Garbin to extend the set and take the tiebreak 8-6. However, Sharapova had energy left and even came back from 3-1 down in the decider to eventually seal victory.

Sharapova’s opponent in the second round of the Warsaw Open was expected to be top seed Caroline Wozniacki, but the Dane has withdrawn today with back injury.

"I really wanted to play here in Warsaw. I know I have a lot of polish fans but I have had this back injury for two weeks," said Wozniacki. "The physiotherapist told me that if I want to be able to accomplish anything at the French Open I have to take a break so that my condition does not get any worse."

Sharapova’s next opponent will be one of the lucky losers: either Lenka Tvaroskova or Darya Kustova.

By the way, as always with Maria, we have to mention her outfit. I like this one, too. The color reminds me of spring and summer fruits and ice-cream. The design is also cute. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

As you know, Maria Sharapova is making her long-awaited comeback from shoulder injury at the May 18-23 Warsaw Open. It’s cute to see the Russian so determined that she’s even training in rain.

Sharapova will play her first competitive singles match since last August. She played doubles with Elena Vesnina at this year’s Indian Wells, but lost in the opening round already.

In the first round of the Warsaw Open, wild card Maria Sharapova will face Tathiana Garbin. Should she beat Garbin, in the second round she will probably play top seed Caroline Wozniacki, runner-up today at Madrid Open. (photos via Warsaw Open)

Maria Sharapova announced on her website that we’ll finally see her play competitively, and this time in singles, unlike her brief return in March. The Russian has received a wildcard and will compete at next week’s Warsaw Open.

Here’s what Sharapova, who has fallen to No.65 in the rankings, said about her comeback and how she's been spending her time:

I am very happy to report that I will make my singles return to the tour in Warsaw Poland, the week of May 18. Although it has not been an easy process these last few months, I really believe it's made me a much stronger person in so many areas of my life professionally and personally […] I have been training quite a lot in Florida and as you may well know, there's not much to do here except train and cook. My cooking abilities have certainly risen in the last few months, and I actually find it quite therapeutic.

(photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Seventh seed Elena Dementieva needed 159 minutes to overwhelm unseeded Meilen Tu of America 6-7 (5), 6-0, 7-5.

This was Russian's first match since February 15th, and the first one she has won since February 2nd. World No. 13 was sidelined by injury for two and a half months; she broke three of her ribs while training with her new coach. When she complained about the pain she felt, the coach kept telling her that it was a normal part of the exercise. In the end, he lost his job, and Dementieva lost two months of practice. However, it could have been even worse — "I kept wondering if I should come back to competitive tennis," she said.

Weather conditions, severe wind and light snow, made Dementieva's comeback match even more difficult; "When it's this cold, I can feel my broken ribs. It's so nice to sit in a warm room," she said in a press conference.

Demetieva is happy to have won this match, but still, she feels that her tennis was rather poor. (via: J&S Cup)

Russians Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze overcame the cold and wind and reached the second round of the J&S Cup. "The conditions were I think the worst," Petrova said. "It was cold, it was windy — before we went on it was a little bit drizzling."

Fifth seed Petrova downed Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-3, 7-5. The 24-year-old Petrova, who won three clay-court titles last season, had little trouble overpowering her 17-year-old opponent. Still, she wasn't completely satisfied with her play — "I really had a difficult time because last week I didn't do much practising." In the second round, Petrova meets Mara Santangelo of Italy, who beat Severine Bremond of France 6-2, 6-3.

Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze was better than her American opponent Jill Craybas. The Russian won in straight sets, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5. Anna's next opponent will be the winner of the match Tathiana Garbin vs. Laura Granville.

(sources: ESPN, BBC Sport)

Elena Dementieva, ranked 13th, plays at J&S Cup in Warsaw, which starts on Monday, after an injury has put her off court from an early February. She injured her rib while playing in Antwerp, and hasn't played since.

If the second-seeded Dementieva manages to defeat Meilen Tu of America in the first round of this $600,000 tournament, she is likely to face Venus Williams in the second round; if she reaches the quarterfinals, there is a possibility of meeting fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Dementieva had struggled this season even before her injury. She was defeated in the Sydney second round by China's Na Li. She was eliminated from the Australian Open in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidisova, and then, in Tokyo, she fell to Martina Hingis in the semis. In Antwerp, she retired in her opening match, against Russian Elena Likhovtseva .

However, in Warsaw Dementieva is lucky to have avoided the top part of the draw which includes top-seeded and 2005 champion, Justine Henin, fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova, as well as Anna Chakvetadze, seeded sixth. (source: IOL)

J&S Cup, which takes place in Warsaw from April 30, has Justine Henin of Belgium as its top seed.

As the first four seeds have a bye in the first round, Justine Henin plays her first match either on Wednesday or on Thursday against the winner of the match between Kaia Kanepi and Anna-Lena Groenefeld . Justine has played Anna-Lena Groenefeld once, at 2006 Roland Garros, and won in straight sets. Estonia's Kaia Kanepi and world No. 1 have never met so far.

If in the opening round everything goes according to Justine's plans, she will face Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, and then have a semifinal meeting with Jelena Jankovic or Anna Chakvetadze.

This is Henin's second time to play in Warsaw. Last time, in 2005, she came out as a winner defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. The defending champion this year is Justine's compatriot, Kim Clijsters, seeded second.

(source: Justine Henin's website)

Amelie Mauresmo had to have her appendix removed in mid-April. She's recovered a great deal, but still, she's not ready enough to compete in J&S Cup, which takes place in Warsaw next week.

The French number 1 decided to make a comeback in Berlin, at Qatar Telecom German Open, a $1,340,000 tournament which starts on May 7. After Berlin, Mauresmo will play in Rome, and after Rome, she'll have intensive training to prepare for the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros.

(via Amelie Mauresmo's official website)