The 2015 Grand Slam season begins Monday with multiple major winners Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova gracing the Melbourne Park courts on the opening day of the Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova plays qualifier Petra Martic of Croatia in the final match of the night at Rod Laver Arena, hoping she'll be able to improve on her 2014 appearance here when she lost in the fourth round.
Sharapova went all the way in her next Grand Slam, winning the French Open for the second time to increase her career major titles to five.
The 2008 Australian Open winner won the Brisbane International in her only tune-up tournament, beating Ana Ivanovic, but isn't placing a lot of emphasis on that victory.
"You can't be overly negative; you can't be overly positive," Sharapova says. "I wanted to start off well. I thought I did many things well. But I'm not going into next week throwing flowers at myself or anything."
Sharapova has a chance to return to No. 1, supplanting Serena Williams, after the Australian Open this year, but needs to at least advance to the final.
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