Sharapova makes winning return to AEGON Classic

After the tiring French Open Grand Slam, here is Maria Sharapova again competing at the AEGON Classic Tournament in Birmingham as a preparation for the next Grand Slam which is the Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova made a winning start to her AEGON Classic campaign at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham today as she continues her comeback from shoulder surgery.

The two-time former champion recovered from a slow start to defeat Canadian Stephanie Dubois 6-4 6-2 in one hour 13 minutes to book a second round date with American Alexa Glatch.

“I thought I did a really good job of getting into the groove of playing on grass again," said Sharapova. "My goal today was to get used to the grass and my opponent, who I hadn’t played before.

“I have tremendous memories from here. It seems that the fans have grown up with me here as I have played here since I was younger. That’s one of the reasons why I keep coming back."

The Road to Bali reaches its half-way mark in Birmingham this week with the AEGON Classic, the 15th of 30 International tournaments on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's calendar. The 56-player, $220,000 event also heralds the start of the four week grass court swing, with all roads leading to Wimbledon at the end of the month. Hoping to find their footing on the turf, five of the Top 30 are present, along with two-time champion Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova, who first won the Birmingham title as a prelude to her Wimbledon triumph in 2004, defended it the following year and was also runner-up to Jelena Jankovic in 2007, promises to steal much of the spotlight. Considering her lack of recent match play the Russian was hugely impressive at the French Open, fighting her way to the quarterfinals on her least favorite surface to lift her ranking into the Top 75. Back on more comfortable terrain she'll be even more dangerous, despite missing out on a seeding.

More information about the tournament here and about Maria here.

Click here for more information about the tournament and the order of play and draws.