Davenport, Clijsters in race for year-end No. 1 ranking (AP) Updated: 2005-11-08 16:51
"I still feel like I'm a rookie. I'm still learning things that can help me,"
she said. "In '04, the first part of my year, I didn't play as much as I played
this year. Scheduling-wise, I'm still learning a lot. I'm making a few changes
in next year's schedule that will help my body and make me recover better."
Sharapova spent the last three weeks training in Florida, where she had "a
really weird accident." She smacked her right thumb against her leg during
practice, causing bruising and swelling that prevented her from holding a racket
for three days.
She also was bothered by a recurring chest muscle injury in August. As a
result, she is downplaying her expectations this week.
"The end of the year, injury-wise, hasn't been the best," she said. "But from
this point, I'm healthy and happy to be here. I haven't played that many matches
to say what form I'm in. I've just played a lot of practice matches."
Even with key players missing, Clijsters isn't dismissing anyone in the chase
for the $1 million winner's check.
"Knowing it's the last tournament of the year, all the players are just going
to go for it," she said. "A lot of things could happen."
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