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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. 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. Canucks Jerseys Outlet . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster. Adidas Canucks Jerseys . -- Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he tries to come back from the second major operation on his left shoulder. http://www.cheapcanucksjerseyschina.com/derek-dorsett-jersey/ . -- Shanshan Feng was alone in her opinion about the pin positions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Kirk Mclean Jersey .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career. Jake Virtanen Jersey .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory.Henry Burris is thrilled to have delivered Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans their first Grey Cup berth since 1999. But now the 38-year-old quarterback can give his youngest son, four-year-old Barron, the opportunity to learn about the Cups rich history. "I asked Barron on Thursday night when we were talking, Do you know what the Grey Cup is, and he was like, Daddy, no, I dont know what it is," Burris said. "When he said that, I almost went to tears." Barron Burris will be able to experience it all first-hand, thanks in large part to his father. Henry Burris threw for 371 yards and three TDs to rally Hamilton to a wild 36-24 win over the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final Sunday. The Ticats will face the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup on Sunday in Regina. Burriss oldest son Armand had the chance to experience a Grey Cup in 08 when Burris led the Calgary Stampeders to the CFL championship. But Barron wasnt yet born so this will be his first Grey Cup experience. Forget about the huge diamond ring or $16,000 winners share, seeing his youngest son soak it all in and being there to experience it with him is priceless for Burris. "Its all about giving your children and family an experience theyll never forget," Burris said after Sundays win, his voice cracking with emotion. "They go through all the sacrifices, being in the stands when people are getting after you saying all types of thinggs about their Daddy, this is what its all about at the end of the day.dddddddddddd "I told him I wanted to help make his dream come true for him one day and here we are now. This is truly amazing." Rallying Hamilton from a 24-10 deficit against Toronto also exorcised some demons for Burris. Named the CFLs outstanding player in 2010 with Calgary, Burris was replaced as starter the next year and dealt to Hamilton. Although Burris enjoyed the best season of his career in 2012 the Ticats struggled, posting a 6-12 record. The challenges continued in 2013 with a new head coach (Kent Austin), several new faces on the roster and the Ticats having to play all of their home games in Guelph, Ont., while a new stadium is being built. But Burris again led the CFL in passing as Hamilton posted a 10-8 record to finish second in the East and is off to the Grey Cup after stirring playoff wins over Montreal and Toronto. After Hamiltons wild comeback win over the Argos, Burris bent down and pounded the Rogers Centre turf furiously. "It just seemed like all the demons of the past four years, what an organization threw at me and all the people have thrown at me, I was just letting them go," Burris said. "I was pounding them into the ground. "To be able to come to another organization and help them rise from what we did a year ago to turn into a Grey Cup calibre team, this is what you dream about." 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