Maria Sharapova is excited to make her return to Flushing Meadows for the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament that is scheduled to start on Monday in New York.

Sharapova, who won the 2006 edition of the tournament, was forced to skip the 2013 U.S. Open because of a shoulder injury following an early exit in last year's Wimbledon and a first-round loss in the Cincinnati Master 1000 event.

"I feel much more refreshed than I did sitting in this chair a year ago," Sharapova said via the tournament's official website. "I feel much more excited to be back and to be playing healthy rather than going on a court and worrying whether I'd be worse or whether playing was the right decision."

The five-time Grand Slam champion failed to advance to the finals of the 2014 Cincinnati event after losing to Anna Ivanovic 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in the finals.

But despite failing to reach her goal in the U.S. Open tune-up tournament, Sharapova remains confident about her chances in the final Grand Slam event of the season, saying that the pressure on her shoulders aren't high because she has nothing to lose heading into the tournament.

"I think this year coming into it I should have a free state of mind after not playing it last year, and it mentally having been a very difficult period in my career," Sharapova said. "So I really have nothing to lose going into it."

Sharapova, who won the 2014 French Open earlier this year, vowed, though, that she will be ready for the tough challenges ahead of her in the tournament.

"I think at any Grand Slam it's all about working through the tournament, pacing yourself, finding your rhythm, improving as the tournament goes on," Sharapova said. "It's about giving yourself the opportunity to keep playing and fighting for your spot out there."

The 27-year-old Russian will be one of biggest threats to defending champions Serena Williams, who recently won in Cincinnati where she sent a strong signal to all U.S. Open participants this year.

"Definitely my best performance of the summer, hopefully not the last. This is definitely a level that can take me to the (U.S. Open) title," Williams said of her performance in Cincinnati. "I still have a lot of work to do. It's definitely a better level than I've played all year, to be honest."

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