Maria Sharapova's injury woes seemed a distant memory as she led Team Russia to the Hong Kong Classic title yesterday.
There were no signs of the shoulder troubles that blighted the 22-year-old's form in 2009 and you can expect news of the Russian's play at Victoria Park over the past week to be trickling through to her potential foes as they gather Down Under for next week's Australian Open.
Expect it to be greeted with some trepidation.
At her very best, Sharapova is a fearsome sight and there were flashes of that during her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Team Europe's Caroline Wozniacki yesterday, her potent forehand in particular gradually finding its range as the match wore on.
Sharapova's victory sealed the title for the Russians after veteran Yevgeny Kafelnikov's earlier 7-5, 6-4 win over Stefan Edberg had given them a 2-0 lead. That meant the result of the tournament's final mixed doubles match was irrelevant in the best-of-three-match final. It was won anyway by Wozniacki and Edberg over Vera Zvonareva and Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 6-3.
Former world number one Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in 2008 but missed it last year due to a shoulder injury, is now off for a week of practice in Melbourne before the year's first grand slam there but apart from saying she was happy with her fitness and form, she would not be drawn into making any predictions.
'Well you never know the future,' said Sharapova, now ranked 14th in the word. 'I've had many great feelings and many horrible feelings about things and it has never worked out the way I have thought it would. So I just stay in the present and go from there.'