Sharapova will return to Breakers

Bryce Alderton

The Newport Beach Breakers protected the rights to Russian star Maria

Sharapova during the World Team Tennis draft Wednesday.

Sharapova, ranked 19th in the world, has won two Women’s Tennis

Association singles titles to go with two doubles victories and

returns to the Breakers this summer in her third season of WTT.

The Breakers, who finished 7-7 in their inaugural season a year

ago, also acquired the No. 1 doubles team on the Association of

Tennis Professionals Tour, Mike and Bob Bryan.

They captured their first Grand Slam title at last year’s French

Open and became the first All-American team to finish a season as the

top-ranked doubles team since Rick Leach and Jim Pugh in 1989. The

Bryans have gone undefeated in two seasons of Davis Cup play.

Sharapova and the Bryans will each play only two of the Breakers’

seven home matches.

The season runs July 5-25 with the Breakers playing their home

matches at the Palisades Tennis Club.

Monica Seles, who won 20 WTA singles titles before her 18th

birthday and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1991, will make a visit

to Newport Beach when the Breakers face the New York Sportimes -- who

drafted Seles -- in one of their seven home matches.

Ellis Ferreira, Aniko Kapros, Ramon Delgado and Nana Miyagi will

make up the rest of the Breakers.

Ferreira, a South African native, captured his first career Grand

Slam crown in doubles at the 2000 Australian Open. He finished 2000

as part of the fifth-ranked doubles team on the ATP Tour.

Kapros moved up to 48th in the world on the WTA Tour this year

while Miyagi, a strong doubles player, is currently ranked 75th in

the world.

Lindsay Davenport, who played two home matches for the Breakers

last year, will not compete in WTT this season due to scheduling

conflicts.

Davenport, a member at Palisades who is currently ranked fourth in

the WTA, would have been available for one match, but the Breakers

had already made prior commitments with other players, said Rosie

Crews, WTT spokeswoman.

“We would have loved to have her back in the league, but the

schedules were a bit crazy with the Olympics,” Crews said.

The Fed Cup begins July 5 and Davenport could be selected to the

United States Olympic team, coached by Zina Garrison.

The Breakers’ schedule will be released in late April with

individual tickets going on sale May 3.