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BRISBANE, Australia -- After pulling out of the Brisbane International with injuries in recent seasons, Maria Sharapova is aiming to use the season-opening tournament this time as a springboard for her comeback and to see how her new support crew works in competition. Nike Blazer Norge . Sharapova has only played one match since an early exit at Wimbledon due to a right shoulder injury and has spent months working with her new coach Sven Groeneveld. She arrived in Australia to prepare for the first major of the season with her boyfriend and fellow professional Grigor Dimitrov, who returns after losing the final here to Andy Murray last season. Serena Williams won the last Brisbane title and is back to defend it, hoping she hasnt lost any of the momentum from a stunning 2013 season when she won 11 titles including the French and U.S. Opens, had 78 wins from 82 matches -- including a 34-match winning streak -- and collected more than $12 million in prize money. Her brief off-season was not exactly business as usual -- although it was commercial. She trained in Florida with her father, Richard, so she could be close to home for the relaunch of one of her companies and to hire a CEO for it. "I was interviewing so many people. Corporate Serena was taking over," she told a news conference Sunday. "Im happy to be here right now." Corporate Serena conducted at least 10 interviews, and still has at least one more to do. She expects it to be a tough interview, like they all are. "I definitely am not easy ... Im a tough interviewer. For me, its all about business and removing a lot of emotion," she said. "I just want to get to the point." And that brings her back to tennis, where she can turn the corporate email account off for a while and concentrate on what she does best. "I took a couple weeks off, but I was already itching to get back on the court," she said. "I didnt want to lose any rhythm or anything. Didnt want to lose momentum." No. 3-seeded Sharapova is in Williams half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semifinals. The Brisbane tournament will be Sharapovas only warmup for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 13, so she needs to find her rhythm quickly. She said shed been practicing hard, but also concentrating on relaxing when shes off the court. Traveling with Dimitrov has helped, she said, despite or because of their major common interest. "Of course we share a lot of the same things just because we have an elephant in the room thats called tennis," Sharapova said Sunday. "But there are so many other things to life that are besides tennis, and there are a lot more things to discuss than forehands and backhands and strings and rackets, which we share similar ideas and things of." Sharapova split with coach Thomas Hogstedt after her Wimbledon loss, and said she wasnt in the right frame of mind to work with Jimmy Connors long term -- that partnership lasted one match. "You have to realize that the decisions you make, you have to make them selfishly in this business to be better, to know whats right for you," she said. "From the first time we met I really liked what (Groeneveld) had to say. Hes a team player. He works with everyone on my team, something I was missing for a little bit of time." In first-round results at Brisbane: Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia; Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 7-5; Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm won 6-3, 7-5 over Australias Olivia Rogowska; and Swiss player Stefanie Vogele beat American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3. Former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki withdrew after hurting her right shoulder in practice but said she expected to be fit the Sydney International next week. While Serena Williams gets a first-round bye in Brisbane, her older sister Venus Williams will be in action from the first round at the WTA event in Auckland on Monday when she plays 134-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. In Hopman Cup Group B action at Perth, Petra Kvitova and Radek Stepanek combined to give the Czech Republic a 3-0 win over Spain. Kvitova only lost one game en route to a comprehensive singles win over Anabel Medina Garrigues before Stepanek beat Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-2, 6-2. The Czech pair won the mixed doubles 6-3, 6-4. Air Force 1 Hvit Norge . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Air Force 1 Dame Norge . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a course-record 10-under 62 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. http://www.airforce1norge.com/nike-roshe-one-norge.html . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.LOS ANGELES -- Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper must remain in a Los Angeles jail without bail after he was indicted in Arizona on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting two women, a California judge ruled Thursday. While making her decision, Superior Court Judge Renee Korn rejected a motion by Sharpers lawyers to release him on house arrest and said Arizona authorities want to extradite the Super Bowl champion to face trial in that state after he is tried on similar charges in California. In Los Angeles, the 38-year-old Sharper has pleaded not guilty to charges involving the rape and drugging of two women he met in a West Hollywood bar. He was previously released on $1 million bail in the California case but turned himself in on Feb. 27 after an arrest warrant was issued in New Orleans. He has not been charged in that state. Sharper is also under investigation in Florida and Nevada. Sharper was indicted on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz., on charges of drugging and raping two women in November. Sharpers attorneys want a hearing to set bail in Arizona, but their client would have to be present. "We know that Darren will vigorously deny tthe allegations," Sharpers Arizona attorney Skip Donau said Wednesday. Air Force 1 Norge. "We are hopeful of vindication." In a bail motion filed last month, a Los Angeles County investigator described a pattern in which the former football star met women at clubs or parties and lured them to a hotel room, where they were allegedly drugged and raped. The New Orleans warrant says police learned from witnesses that Sharper and an associate had acknowledged having nonconsensual sex with two women. Sharpers attorneys say he never made such statements. The warrant does not elaborate on how the information was obtained or disclose the names of the witnesses. Korn set another court appearance for Sharper for March 24. Sharper was selected All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Green Bay Packers as a rookie and was part of a successful championship run while with the New Orleans Saints. He retired after the 2010 season and was working as an analyst for the NFL Network before being fired recently. Associated Press Writer Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report. ' ' '