Caroline Wozniacki has criticised the US Open for giving Maria Sharapova prime-time billing following her return from a doping suspension.

Not much fazes Roberta Vinci after 16 years on Tour, but the maelstrom swirling around her opening match in Stuttgart, Germany, against Maria Sharapova today will test the Italian’s vast experience.

Maria Sharapova has told fans she is "counting the days" until she returns to tennis next spring after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her two-year doping ban to just 15 months.

Maria Sharapova has denied inside knowledge will be a factor in her Australian Open semi-final against Li Na tomorrow and insisted it will come down to “execution” on the day.