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Venus downs Sharapova to win in HK

Venus Williams beat Russia's Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 yesterday to win the JB Group Classic exhibition in Hong Kong, a warmup for the upcoming Australian Open.

Both players held serve comfortably in the early games, but the Russian faltered first.

Serving at 4-5 in the first set, Sharapova sent a backhand into the net after a long rally and then missed another backhand to give the American a one-set lead.

World No. 5 Sharapova, a past winner at Wimbledon and the US Open, was erratic in the second set.

Down 2-3, she double faulted and missed a forehand to give the reigning Wimbledon champ the crucial break.

Sharapova did save two match points in her final service game, but Williams held to love to take the match, closing out the game with a forehand winner.

"It's very exciting, especially going into the Australian, having played very well against someone of her [Sharapova's] caliber," Williams said.

The opening Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open is scheduled to take place from Jan. 14 to Jan. 27.

World No. 8 Williams, a six-time Grand Slam winner, complained on Friday of a hamstring soreness but appeared unaffected yesterday.

She said the hamstring discomfort felt better after treatment. Williams also said she fell on her left wrist while practicing in Hong Kong but that the wrist felt 100 percent yesterday.

"I just had the opportunity to get my racket on the ball and play it deep. I guess I served well. I returned OK. So I guess it was about doing everything good," she said.

Sharapova said she took some chances because she was playing against an opponent in good form.

"When your opponent is serving big and serving consistently, you've really got to take your chances on opportunities, on second serves, which I did a poor job of," she said.

The eight-woman field at the JB Group Classic also featured Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, Russia's Elena Dementieva, China's Peng Shuai, Russia's Anna Chakvetadze, Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.
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