Open attack

Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko had the sweetest win on Monday when she beat rival and friend Maria Sharapova on the first day at the Australian Open. The two Russians battled for more than three hours, the second longest womens' match in Australian Open history. Here's more about this rising tennis star:



>>u00a0In 2002, Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko became one of the youngest winners of the Canadian Open and the US Open Junior Tournaments.
>>u00a0She then started participating in WTA events and began moving up in the
rankings.
>>u00a0Kirilenko has beaten her friend Sharapova once before at Beijing in 2005. She also won her first title deafeating Anna-Lena Gru00f6nefeld in the China Open.
>>u00a0Kirilenko and Sharapova also won a doubles title together at Birmingham in 2005.
>>u00a0She has won five WTA Tour titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of 18 on the WTA tour in July 2008.
>>u00a0Kirilenko was unseeded at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Petra Kvitova in the first round 6-4, 6-4. However, she lost 6-0, 6-4 to number 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki.
>>u00a0Kirilenko's ranking slipped to 58 by the end of 2009 due to her experiencing some knee problem.