Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova returns the ball to American Venus Williams Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005 in Chiang Mai province during an exhibition match in northern Thailand as part of her preparations for the Australian Open. Maria won 6-4, 6-2.

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova beat four-time major winner Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 Sunday in an exhibition match two weeks before the start of the Australian Open.

The match began with a 30-second tribute to victims of the tsunami that killed more than 123,000 people, including nearly 5,000 confirmed dead in Thailand. After the match, the players auctioned off their rackets for $2,560 each to raise funds to help victims.

Sharapova used her flat, deep groundstrokes to keep Williams off-balance in the 78-minute exhibition before about 4,000 fans. Williams was hurt by a string of unforced errors, mostly from her forehand, and she double-faulted on the final point.

Williams and Sharapova next head to Hong Kong for another exhibition match.

Source: Agencies/China Daily