Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic replaced the injured Maria Sharapova in the main draw of next week’s Open GDF SUEZ.
World No.3 Jankovic joins top-ranked Serena Williams and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva in the Paris tournament.
As you know, Sharapova, who hasn’t competed for six months, withdrew because of her shoulder injury. In her latest diary entry the Russian talks about her rehab. Here’s just an extract:
I have been training in Florida the last few weeks and really working hard on getting the strength back in my arm […] And the only way to get back into good shape is by playing tennis. Unfortunately just because the doctor fixes the problem and gives you the green light to practice doesn’t mean that you can just go out there playing tournaments. Yesterday I played my first few points with serves in about 6 months which was pretty exciting! Right now I’m aiming for Palm Springs, or Miami, depending on how things shape up.
(photos: Ralf Reinecke)
