BRISBANE, Australia -- After pulling out of the Brisbane International with injuries in recent seasons, Maria Sharapova is aiming to use the season-opening tournament this time as a springboard for her comeback and to see how her new support crew works in competition. Marcus Gilchrist Jersey . Sharapova has only played one match since an early exit at Wimbledon due to a right shoulder injury and has spent months working with her new coach Sven Groeneveld. She arrived in Australia to prepare for the first major of the season with her boyfriend and fellow professional Grigor Dimitrov, who returns after losing the final here to Andy Murray last season. Serena Williams won the last Brisbane title and is back to defend it, hoping she hasnt lost any of the momentum from a stunning 2013 season when she won 11 titles including the French and U.S. Opens, had 78 wins from 82 matches -- including a 34-match winning streak -- and collected more than $12 million in prize money. Her brief off-season was not exactly business as usual -- although it was commercial. She trained in Florida with her father, Richard, so she could be close to home for the relaunch of one of her companies and to hire a CEO for it. "I was interviewing so many people. Corporate Serena was taking over," she told a news conference Sunday. "Im happy to be here right now." Corporate Serena conducted at least 10 interviews, and still has at least one more to do. She expects it to be a tough interview, like they all are. "I definitely am not easy ... Im a tough interviewer. For me, its all about business and removing a lot of emotion," she said. "I just want to get to the point." And that brings her back to tennis, where she can turn the corporate email account off for a while and concentrate on what she does best. "I took a couple weeks off, but I was already itching to get back on the court," she said. "I didnt want to lose any rhythm or anything. Didnt want to lose momentum." No. 3-seeded Sharapova is in Williams half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semifinals. The Brisbane tournament will be Sharapovas only warmup for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 13, so she needs to find her rhythm quickly. She said shed been practicing hard, but also concentrating on relaxing when shes off the court. Traveling with Dimitrov has helped, she said, despite or because of their major common interest. "Of course we share a lot of the same things just because we have an elephant in the room thats called tennis," Sharapova said Sunday. "But there are so many other things to life that are besides tennis, and there are a lot more things to discuss than forehands and backhands and strings and rackets, which we share similar ideas and things of." Sharapova split with coach Thomas Hogstedt after her Wimbledon loss, and said she wasnt in the right frame of mind to work with Jimmy Connors long term -- that partnership lasted one match. "You have to realize that the decisions you make, you have to make them selfishly in this business to be better, to know whats right for you," she said. "From the first time we met I really liked what (Groeneveld) had to say. Hes a team player. He works with everyone on my team, something I was missing for a little bit of time." In first-round results at Brisbane: Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia; Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 7-5; Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm won 6-3, 7-5 over Australias Olivia Rogowska; and Swiss player Stefanie Vogele beat American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3. Former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki withdrew after hurting her right shoulder in practice but said she expected to be fit the Sydney International next week. While Serena Williams gets a first-round bye in Brisbane, her older sister Venus Williams will be in action from the first round at the WTA event in Auckland on Monday when she plays 134-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. In Hopman Cup Group B action at Perth, Petra Kvitova and Radek Stepanek combined to give the Czech Republic a 3-0 win over Spain. Kvitova only lost one game en route to a comprehensive singles win over Anabel Medina Garrigues before Stepanek beat Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-2, 6-2. The Czech pair won the mixed doubles 6-3, 6-4. Johnny Townsend Raiders Jersey . Lisicki beat South African Chanelle Scheepers by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) margin. Next up for the Wimbledon runner-up will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, who outlasted Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. Rashaan Melvin Raiders Jersey .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. http://www.authenticraidersfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Tahir-Whitehead-Jersey/ .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times.SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Kings finally found the right remedy to end a monthlong bout of bad news: a healthy DeMarcus Cousins and a struggling Kobe Bryant.Cousins had 29 points and 14 rebounds in his second start since returning from a serious illness, and the Kings snapped a five-game losing streak with a 108-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.It seems like forever since we had a win, Cousins said. So it feels good to get a win.The victory provided a brief reprieve for Sacramento and its franchise centerpiece.The Kings had lost 10 of 12 games — going 2-8 while Cousins recovered from viral meningitis — and fired coach Michael Malone last week. There also has been constant speculation about how long interim coach Tyrone Corbin will man the sidelines and reports of possible player trades.For at least one day, though, Sacramento shook off all the talk — and a shaky first half — for a much-needed win. Rudy Gay scored 24 points, and Ben McLemore added 23 points and eight rebounds to help the Kings pull away late.Sacramento improved to 10-7 with Cousins in the lineup.The guys are coming together, said Corbin, who won for the first time in three games since Malones dismissal. I cant say enough about how much I respect the effort after all weve been through.Nick Young scored 26 points, and Bryant had 25 for the Lakers, who have lost six of eight and are buried at the bottom of the Pacific Division.Bryant shot just 8 of 30 and had nine of the Lakers 17 turnovers. He also had five rebounds and three assists.Obviously, I have had tough moments, Bryant said. But the thing that I have always found effective is to focus on where youre at in the moment and time.In what has been a down time for Californias once-proud NBA franchises, the Kings showed their rebuilding process might be further along than the Lakers.Cousins is still working his way back into shape but was as animated as ever, often talking between plays and overpowering defenders during them. He shot 9 of 19 and had three bblocks, two assists and two steals. Shareece Wright Raiders Jersey. But the Lakers still gave the Kings trouble most of the way.Young started a four-point play while getting fouled by Gay near the top of the arc, lifting the Lakers to an 89-83 lead in the fourth that quickly evaporated. Gay followed with a 3-pointer, and Derrick Williams had a tying three-point play the next time down.The teams traded baskets before Sacramentos finishing burst put the game out of reach.Cousins highlighted the decisive run when he came up with a defensive rebound and threw a bounce pass ahead to Darren Collison, who took a couple of dribbles before tossing a no-look alley-oop to McLemore that put the Kings up 99-91 with 4:02 remaining.I think we responded well, Cousins said. This is a way for us to move on from that situation and keep on the path we had been playing on this season.TIP INSLakers: Los Angeles beat Sacramento 98-95 on Dec. 9 at Staples Center in their first matchup. Cousins sat out that game. ... The teams play two more times this season.Kings: Former franchise centre Vlade Divac sat next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive near centre court. ... Gay thanked fans before the game for their support and wished them happy holidays.BREAK FOR BRYANT?Lakers coach Byron Scott said he might rest Bryant for an upcoming game to give the 36-year-old a break. Bryant said it might make sense but stopped short of endorsing the idea. Its probably not that much of an option, really, he said. I just have to look at the body, the amount of the workload, and see how it responds.NO SUSPENSIONYoung avoided a suspension from the NBA after getting ejected in a loss to Oklahoma City on Friday night, when he retaliated to contact from Steven Adams with a forearm and elbow to the Thunder centres throat. Scott said he spoke with Young about keeping his cool and told him he could face discipline from the coach — never mind the league — if theres another incident.UP NEXTLakers: Host Golden State on Tuesday.Kings: At Golden State on Monday. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '