Maria Sharapova was in fine form for a second time at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Thursday night. The Russian powerhouse kept her game on lock while breaking down Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets 7-5, 6-1 at Porsche Arena in Stuttgart. Sharapova had nine aces in the match and minimized the unforced errors to move into the quarterfinals once again.
It was a seventh meeting between the Russians that has been one sided since 2015. With the former number one back in competition and showing her skills against Roberta Vinci on Wednesday, the 30 year old had Makarova in her sights planning to take things one step at a time. The world number 43 dispatched Agnieszka Radwanska Monday in what didn’t seem like a two horse race but ended with the Russian gaining so much ground to close Radwanska down in straight sets. While she hoped to carry something against Sharapova who remained unranked, she knew that she would have to bring down a heavy obstacle with a newfound force in play.
The opening game was a show of force as Sharapova rocketed to quick love service over Makarova. It was matched by her Russian counterpart who wanted to put a good footing in the set while she was given the chance. She remained on serve with Sharapova holding service through several games where neither one saw the other giving away an edge. The former world number one continued to be the first to take the next step and at a critical moment where a winner could be determined as the players reached closer to six games.
Sharapova hunted for the break in the tenth but was denied that by Makarova who maintained a firm stance that gave little to nothing sending the set into extra frames. The pressure began to build for Makarova who knew that it was going to take another notch to stay with Sharapova and reach a tiebreaker. Unable to get a break, Makarova came to the point of her serve that the returning star attacked with all her might to win the set 7-5 that took 51 minutes.
Despite having three double faults and more unforced errors than Makarova, Sharapova’s dominance on winners in her second match were assisting in her push to show some dictation going forward. She also recorded her 12th consecutive set win against her countrywoman leaving just one to go to cap the match.
Her victory to start the second gave her a three game winning streak but knew that her opponent would want to implement the same pace as the first began. She did get the game but after Sharapova held serve again in the third she pulled off a triple break in the fourth where a strategic lob earned her a big win to widen the gap at 3-1. The first sign of trouble for
Sharapova came in the fifth where she struggled on offense creating unforced errors. While making the climb back, she double faulted to force deuce with Makarova but got back a chance to win it with an ace. She secured the serve hold on the next try that her opponent hit long leaving the former number one with two games left to win.
She hunted for a key break using her power strokes on the rallies to break Makarova at every chance. Through every critical point, the 30 year old dug in with plenty of comfort to pressure Makarova into making a mistake. On break point, the moment came during a long rally that the 28 year old couldn’t keep up landing the ball into the net. the final game was in Sharapova’s hands as she easily dictated things from start to finish. Showing tremendous strength and meaning business, the Russian got the victory in straight sets that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes.
“Being the second match and getting all the emotions out in the first one I feel like I settled down a little bit and was able to focus on the game,” Sharapova said on court after the match. “I executed a great plan today and I thought I was solid and was really good serving set for the both of us and it was up to the last couple of game and glad I pulled that out.”
She’ll face Annett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals who she hasn’t faced before but would be focused on getting the job done. “There’s only a few girls in the draw that I haven’t played before and she’s one of them,” she said. “She’s had a lot of matches this week and played really great tennis so it’ll be a terrific opportunity for the both of us.”
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