Berlin – Brisbane champion Maria Sharapova closed in on world number one Serena Williams in the latest women's tennis rankings issued by the WTA.
Williams, a losing finalist with the US at the Hopman Cup, remained on 8,016 points while Sharapova improved to 7,335. Simona
Halep is third on 6,571 a week before the first major of the year, the Australian Open, start in Melbourne.
Sharapova won the Brisbane title on the weekend against Ana
Ivanovic, who rose from seventh to fifth by reaching the final.
WTA top 10 as of January 12 (previous ranking in parenthesis):
1. (1) Serena Williams, United States, 8,016 points
2. (2) Maria Sharapova, Russia, 7,335
3. (3) Simona Halep, Romania, 6,571
4. (4) Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, 5,891
5. (7) Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 4,845
6. (5) Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, 4,810
7. (6) Eugenie Bouchard, Canada, 4,715
8. (8) Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark, 4,625
9. (9) Angelique Kerber, Germany, 3,275
10. (10) Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, 2,970. – Sapa-dpa