Whirlpool Player Of the Year

Maria Sharapova has been named the second annual winner of the Whirlpool 6th sense Player of the Year, announced Thursday at the season-ending 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships.

The award, which honors the player who has demonstrated the most 6th sense intuition over the course of the year, was presented to Sharapova by Dino Olivetti, brand director of Whirlpool Europe.

Click read more to view the video

Maria was one of the three world's top players short-listed for the award via an online competition organised by Whirlpool, Premier Sponsor of the Tour.

The three finalists chosen were Martina Hingis, Maria Sharapova and Amélie Mauresmo. From the finalists, Maria was chosen to receive the Award by an expert panel and the online voters from across Europe. The panel consisted of former World No. 1 and 14 time Grand Slam title winner – Arantxa Sanchez; Co-President of the International Tennis Writers


"I'm thrilled to have won the Whirlpool 6th sense Player of the Year award for 2006," Sharapova said. "It completes a great year for me and it is an honor to win such an award against the world's best players. The significance of intuition in my game is that I try to anticipate my opponent so I can react faster and with greater precision. As the game gets faster and the competition stronger, intuition becomes even more important."



"Maria has had a fantastic season and I am delighted that our consumers across Europe along with the judging panel have recognized her outstanding abilities," said Giuseppe Perucchetti, vice president of brand marketing at Whirlpool Europe.

Russia's Sharapova set to make Fed Cup debut in April

Maria Sharapova will make her long-awaited Fed Cup debut for Russia against Spain in their World Group first-round tie in April, Russia's tennis chief said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Open champion will be joined by Nadia Petrova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva, forming a powerful Russian line-up for the two-day tie in Moscow on April 21-22.

"Yes, all four of our girls have agreed to play against Spain," president of the Russian tennis federation Shamil Tarpishchev, who is also their Fed Cup captain, told Reuters.

"Of course, anything can happen between now and next April but barring any injuries, they all will be in the team."

All four Russians are now in Madrid, taking part in the season-ending WTA Championships, which began on Tuesday.

World number two Sharapova is riding on a three-tournament winning streak after her triumphs at the U.S. Open, Linz and Zurich and has a good chance of clinching the number one spot.

There have always been doubts in the Russian media over whether Sharapova would ever play for her country, but the Florida-based teenager made herself available for Russia's Fed Cup team last month.

"I'm really excited to make my first appearance in the Fed Cup for my country and it is great to be playing the tie in Moscow," the 19-year-old said on her Web site.

"Hopefully, myself and the team will put up a strong showing against Spain, who have a good team."

Kuznetsova, Petrova and Dementieva are all in the world's top eight, occupying the fourth, fifth and eighth spots respectively.

Russia will try to regain the Fed Cup title they won in 2004 and 2005. This year they lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Maria Sharapova - CNN Interview

Sharapova beats Petrova to win Generali

Maria Sharapova claimed her fifth title this year at the Linz Open when she beat holder and number two seed Nadia Petrova 7-5 6-2 in Sunday's all-Russian final.
She added to her wins at the U.S. Open, Indian Wells, San Diego and Zurich and by reaching the final guaranteed she would overtake Justine Henin-Hardenne as world number two on Monday.

Sharapova was forced to save two set points in the first set, but she held serve and then broke Petrova before serving out.

In the second set, Petrova, the defending champion, had few chances to break against Sharapova's strong serve.

Top-seeded Sharapova, who now has 15 career titles, is also in contention with the Belgian and Amelie Mauresmo of France to finish the season at number one, a position she last held on Oct. 23 2005.