Sharapova puts slams before number one ranking

Maria Sharapova rates her triumph at last year's Wimbledon above her recent rise to the top of the rankings.

The Russian teenager reached the top spot for the first time last month but said yesterday that she measured success in terms of grand slam titles.

"It's been a good year so far. I reached number one in the world at 18," Sharapova told reporters ahead of this week's China Open. "But my most successful year was last year because I won my first grand slam at Wimbledon."

Sharapova is bidding for an 11th career singles title in Beijing following a tough three-set defeat by Kim Clijsters in the US Open semi-finals. Venus and Serena Williams are playing in Beijing this week, with Sharapova seeded to meet Serena in the semi-finals.

¤ The Australian Open will revert to its traditional timeslot in January 2007 after organisers said they had dropped a plan to change the dates. Tennis Australia officials had announced they would stage the 2007 tournament from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4 after complaints from players that the season was starting too early in the year. But Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said yesterday the plan had been scrapped and the first grand slam of the year would be moved back to Jan. 15-28.