Maria Off To Winning Start in Madrid

MADRID, Spain - Maria Sharapova held off a spirited Daniela Hantuchova to win her opening round robin match at the Sony Ericsson Championships. Tuesday's first match saw Justine Henin defeat Anna Chakvetadze.

Sharapova is the No.6 seed this week and will be delighted to have got off to a winning start against Hantuchova. There was little to separate the two players throughout, but eventually it was the Russian who edged the entertaining contest, 64 75.