Maria Sharapova eager to return to action at the US Open

Maria Sharapova, scheduled to meet No. 2 seed Simona Halep in the first round of the U.S. Open, says her experience could help offset a recent lack of match play.

The five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 ranked player has played just one match since Rome, withdrawing from the second round of Stanford with a forearm injury.

"I haven't had the best preparation, if we're really being honest,'' she said in a video interview with the official website of the U.S. Open, done before the draw. "After healing for many weeks and skipping Wimbledon, and now to skip the warm-up tournaments, is disappointing.

"But the body said, 'We're just not ready for you.'"

Sharapova withdrew from scheduled hard-court events in Cincinnati and Toronto. She also did not play the grass-court season because of a hamstring injury she picked up in Rome, her third event since returning from a 15-month anti-doping suspension.

But the 30-year-old Russian said the layoffs had left her eager to play, and she is looking to repeat previous successful comebacks in her career, including from shoulder surgery.

"I'm coming in with no matches,'' she said. "But I have had the experience of that position before. I have to bring that back."

Sharapova, who received a wild card into the event, will be playing her first Grand Slam since returning to tour.

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