LONDON -- Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after her two-year doping ban was reduced to 15 months on Tuesday by a sports court that found the Russian star bore no significant fault for her positive drug test and did not intend to cheat.The Court of Arbitration for Sport cut nine months off the suspension imposed on Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at the Australian Open in January.Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1-ranked player, appealed to CAS in June seeking to overturn or reduce the two-year penalty imposed by the International Tennis Federation.In a 28-page ruling , the CAS panel found that Sharapova bore some degree of fault but less than significant fault in the case that has sidelined one of the worlds most prominent and wealthy female athletes.The panel has determined, under the totality of the circumstances, that a sanction of 15 months is appropriate here given her degree of fault, the three-man arbitration body ruled.While Sharapova did commit a doping violation, under no circumstances ... can the player be considered to be an `intentional doper, the panel said.Sharapovas ban, which took effect on Jan. 26, was originally due to run until Jan. 25, 2018. Now she can return on April 26, 2017, a month ahead of the French Open, a Grand Slam tournament she has won twice.Ive gone from one of the toughest days of my career last March when I learned about my suspension to now, one of my happiest days, as I found out I can return to tennis in April, Sharapova said in a statement.In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me and it will feel really good to have it back, she added. Tennis is my passion and I have missed it. I am counting the days until I can return to the court.The doping suspension kept the 29-year-old Sharapova out of this years French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, as well as the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She will also miss the 2017 Australian Open in January.Maria is absolutely one of the stars of the game, so shes missed when shes not available to play, WTA CEO Steve Simon told The Associated Press. Were very much looking forward to seeing her come back to the court next spring.Simon said Sharapova, who will have to rebuild her ranking from scratch, is entitled to unlimited wild cards based on her record. He expects her to be granted wild cards as soon as she is eligible, including for the French Open.I would be very surprised if there are too many tournaments that wouldnt extend her that opportunity, Simon said in a telephone interview. I think shell be able to work her way back onto the tour.Sharapova acknowledged taking meldonium before each match at last years Australian Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams. The ITF said she also tested positive for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2.Sharapova said she was not aware that meldonium, also known as mildronate, had been included on the World Anti-Doping Agencys list of banned substances from Jan. 1, 2016.Sharapovas lawyer, John Haggerty, called Tuesdays ruling a stunning repudiation of the ITF, which he said failed to properly notify players of the meldonium ban.The panel has determined it does not agree with many of the conclusions of the ITF, Haggerty said in a conference call. As we demonstrated before CAS, not only did the tennis anti-doping authorities fail to properly warn Maria, if you compare what the ITF did with how other federations warned athletes of the rule change, its a night and day difference.WADA acknowledged that CAS fully scrutinized all available information and evidence in the case and said it abides by the ruling.Sharapova said she was first prescribed the Latvian-made drug by her family doctor for various medical issues in 2006. She said she took the drug for regular bouts of the flu, possible onset of diabetes and a magnesium deficiency.An independent ITF panel had found that Sharapova did not intend to cheat but bore sole responsibility and very significant fault for the positive test. The ITF panel also said the case inevitably led to the conclusion that she took the substance for the purpose of enhancing her performance.Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.More than 100 athletes, including many Russians and other eastern Europeans, tested positive for meldonium early in the year. Some escaped with no sanctions because they argued successfully that they stopped taking the drug before Jan. 1 and that traces had lingered in their system. Sharapova, however, acknowledged that she used meldonium after Jan. 1.A hearing on Sharapovas appeal was held in New York on Sept. 7-8. The player and her legal team argued that she bore no significant fault or negligence and her ban should be reduced to time served, or about eight months.I have learned from this, and I hope the ITF has as well, Sharapova said. I have taken responsibility from the very beginning for not knowing that the over-the-counter supplement I had been taking for the last 10 years was no longer allowed.Head, Sharapovas racket supplier, hailed the CAS ruling as justice being served.We are very proud to have stood by Maria for the right reasons throughout these difficult and testing times, Head CEO Johan Eliasch said, claiming it was wholly unfair that that she had been banned at all.---AP Sports Writer Chris Lehourites contributed to this report.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilson Hydro Flask 18 Oz Mint .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Cheap 21 oz Hydro Flask Sport Cap Standard Mouth Mint . 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WASHINGTON -- Max Scherzer wasnt about to leave his start Monday afternoon any earlier than necessary.Scherzer pitched seven strong innings to earn his 16th victory of the season, and the well-traveled Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 in the opener of a three-game series.Hes full of determination, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. We were going to take him out after the sixth because they had some dangerous hitters coming up and they were starting to hit the ball pretty well and Scherzer said, `Hey, man, I want to go back out there, and he had a great short inning.Scherzer (16-7) scattered seven hits and yielded two runs to win his fourth consecutive start. He needed only eight pitches to navigate his final inning.I just said two words: `Im good, Scherzer said. You just know where youre at physically. You know how the balls coming out of your hand. I just knew even at 98 pitches I was still strong. I knew I had 115 in the tank, so I knew I was good to go out there for the seventh.Washington maintained an 8 1/2-game lead in the NL East over the New York Mets, who won 5-0 at Cincinnati.Trea Turner and Chris Heisey both homered during a five-run third inning for the Nationals, who won for the 12th time in 14 meetings against Atlanta this season.That one inning got away from us real quick, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. It kind of happened before you knew it happened a little bit.Ryan Weber (1-1) lost in his first start of the season for Atlanta. Weber allowed five runs in three innings as the Braves had a six-game winning streak snapped.Washington created problems for Weber the second time he went through the order. Turner smacked a two-run homer to left with an out in the third to give the Nationals the lead. Weber put the next two men on and, after a pop out, Heisey blasted his ninth home run to left to make it 5-1.I left one just middle-in, right in (Turners) wheelhouse and after that my ability to limit the damage was not that good, Weber said. I made another bad pitch to Heisey and then it was really out of hand.Turner, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, added an RBBI single in the fourth.ddddddddddddAtlanta scored twice in the ninth off closer Mark Melancon to pull within 6-4, but the right-hander ended the threat by getting catcher Anthony Recker to fly out with a man on first.RESTING REGULARSThe Nationals fielded a lineup that did not include OFs Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, 2B Daniel Murphy, C Wilson Ramos and 1B Ryan Zimmerman. Washington arrived home early Monday morning after a Sunday night loss at the New York Mets.Some of my guys are walking around like zombies, and thats the reason why, Baker said. Im not overlooking the Braves at all. Im just trying to preserve and take care of my guys. Who I feel sorry for are the fans who came out today to see their favorite players play. I cant help it. You have to blame the schedule-makers and the TV-makers for that.INCIARTE STREAK TO 16Atlanta CF Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a pair of singles in five at-bats. He is 30 for 70 (.429) since Aug. 19 and owns the longest active hitting streak in the majors.TRAINERS ROOMBraves: Snitker said he hopes RHP Matt Wisler (sore side) can return to the rotation next week. Atlanta skipped his turn Monday. Id like to get him back out there, obviously, Snitker said. I want him to finish the season.Nationals: RHP Joe Ross allowed one run and three hits in three innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse. Ross, on the DL since July 3 with right shoulder inflammation, struck out two and walked none. ... IF Stephen Drew (vertigo-like symptoms) went 1 for 2 during a rehab appearance at Class A Potomac.UP NEXTBraves: RHP Williams Perez (2-2, 4.62), who has not appeared in the majors since June 6 because of a rotator cuff strain, returns to the rotation and will face Washington for the first time this season. Snitker said Perez is unlikely to throw more than 100 pitches Tuesday.Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (10-9, 4.14) looks for his first win against the Braves this season. He has a 2.31 ERA in two starts against Atlanta. Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Gear White NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys ' ' '