Sharapova wins in Memphis...

MEMPHIS: Maria Sharapova put her disappointing Australian Open performance behind her on Saturday, as she beat Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-1 to win the WTA Tour's Memphis title.

The top-seeded Russian, playing in her first tournament since she crashed out of the first round of the year's first Grand Slam, didn't drop a set all week and capped her campaign with a victory over Swedish qualifier Arvidsson in 66 minutes.

“Coming in here, I asked for matches and I got five of them and I got the win, so I'm certainly happy,” said Sharapova, who is expected to rise from 16th in the world to 13th on Monday.

“I felt like I played consistent tennis throughout the week and did the right things against all my opponents,” said Sharapova, who spent almost a year out of the game with a shoulder injury in 2008-09.

“I guess that's a good week. Little by little, I'm getting there,” she said.

She overpowered Arvidsson, ranked 102nd in the world, winning one stretch of nine straight games and winning 15 of the last 18 points in the first set.

“She was just too good,” Arvidsson said.

In the men's semifinal, John Isner beat Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 and Sam Querrey downed Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-4.

“It's awesome,” Querrey said of the all-American final match-up. “Kind of a confidence booster for us.”

Isner and Querrey are good friends and practice partners, but have never faced each other in an ATP match.

Record win

Venus Williams became the most successful active woman player on the WTA Tour when she secured her 42nd title by successfully defending her Dubai Open title on Saturday.

Williams beat Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5 in an absorbing final, thus overtaking Justine Henin's record of 41 titles, only two months after achieving another notable statistic — a career total of $25 million in prize money.

She and her sister Serena are the only two women to have achieved this feat, but both Venus's resilient performance and her optimistic words suggested that further remarkable statistics are in the pipeline.

Asked if she now hoped to add to her tally of Grand Slam titles, the five-time Wimbledon champion replied: “Absolutely. I am so happy to have added to my collection here. And I am keen to keep adding every time.”

Llodra wins

Michael Llodra capped a fine run at the Open 13 tournament in Marseille by winning the title on Sunday, beating Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

The results: At Memphis (Morgan Keenan Championships & Cellular South Cup): Women: Final: Maria Sharapova bt Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-1. Men: Semifinals: John Isner bt Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 4-6, 6-3; Sam Querrey bt Ernest Gulbis 6-3, 6-4.

At Marseille (Open 13): Final: Michael Llodra bt Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4. Semifinals: Julien Benneteau bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(11), 5-7, 7-6(3); Michael Llodra bt Mischa Zverev 6-1, 7-6(3).

At Buenos Aires (Telmex Cup): Semifinals: David Ferrer bt Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-1; Juan-Carlos Ferrero bt Juan Monaco 6-2, 7-6(7).

At Dubai (Barclays Championships): Final: Venus Williams bt Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5.

At Bogota (Colombian Open): Semifinals: Angelique Kerber bt Gisela Dulko 7-5, 6-3; Mariana Duque Marino bt Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4, 7-5 . — Agencies