Indian Wells, California - Maria Sharapova vowed on Wednesday not to rush back on to court until the shoulder problem which kept her from the Miami Masters has completely healed. "The main goal now is to get that rest and recovery - no matter how long that is," said the three-time Grand Slam champion whose unbeaten streak in 2008 was ended when she lost last week in the Indian Wells semis to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"My goal after the rest is to get onto the clay courts (which begin in a fortnight) and start training and do all the right things.
"I'm not sure which tournaments I will play yet. It's going to come down to the recovery process.
"The day that I wake up and say 'I miss the racket', that's when I want to go out there again."
The Russian who suffered with the problem on a much worse scale in 2007, said that she injured the joint during an early-round match last week in the Californian desert.
"I reached out for a backhand return and tweaked it a little bit. It's nowhere near as bad as last year, but you become very cautious and a bit scared."
The former number one said she was "surprised that I did play in the next few rounds. I began the year by winning a Grand Slam (Australian) and after that I didn't have the time to give myself a break, reflect and enjoy."
Sharapova extended her win streak for a few more matches last month when she withdrew from Dubai after winning Doha for her second title of the season.
She then extended the unbeaten run to 18 straight before falling at the weekend.
With all seeds on both the men's and women's sides handed first-round byes, lesser lights dominated Wednesday's opening day at Crandon Park.
Ailing Tommy Haas withdrew before an opening-round showdown with fellow German Nicolas Kiefer as his sinus infection continues to impact his tennis.
The 29-year-old German pulled out last week of a quarter-final at Indian Wells against Roger Federer with the same problem. Haas was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
There were wins on the men's side for Croatian Marin Cilic, Italy's Andreas Seppi, Russian Dmitry Tursunov and German Benjamin Becker.
