Maria Sharapova finished her tough opening round match in fine form at the Bank of the West Classic Monday night. The former number one finished off Jennifer Brady in a quick third set to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 on Center Court at the Taube Family Tennis Center at Stanford University. The former number one concluded a two hour battle that saw her shake off the rust after two months away from competition.
The Russian superstar appears in the competition for the first time in over two months since returning to the sport after her 15 month suspension. Her comeback consisted of eight matches which she lost three including her final one in Rome back in May. Having to sit out of the French Open and Wimbledon, Sharapova prepared for the hard courts and her opening round match against the American. Brady kept local and payed three matches in Sacramento before showing up at Stanford. The UCLA tennis star had her eyes set on a bigger opponent but had the chance to show her strengths on service to deal out an upset on day one.
The struggles to play tough against were apparent quickly in the opening game as Sharapova took to the attack on the break. She was challenged on her opening serve in the second but forced deuce with Brady to come out ahead after two breaks. The hard hits began to come from the racket of Brady who reached 40-0 quickly on the serve. Despite the adversity, Sharapova rallied back to force deuce and win her third in a row.
It was a competition of hardest hits between the two as both put down winning shots that led them to another fight on deuce in the fourth. In the end, Brady took the game forcing the Russian to the baseline that made her returns very difficult to land across court. Despite ending the winning streak, her game was still on fire as she stayed ahead on the scoreboard and took a 4-1 lead on the 22 year old.
The sixth was a tug of war for the two players as Brady rallied to deuce while at times, Sharapova saved her end with the backhand. It remained a struggle in what was the longest game of the set reaching a few breaks but got it done with a winner. Brady was on the edge of losing out to Sharapova on three unforced errors followed by a double fault that concluded 37 minutes. In the seven games that spanned, Sharapova struggled on both sides of the serve with three double faults. Her efforts to win break points and a strong second return were enough to give her the leverage going into the second.
The momentum began instead with Brady earning a big win to start the set followed by her first hold of serve in the match. The American improved on the returning side of her game that helped her defend against the Russian. The tables were turned as Brady dictated with a 3-0 that sent Sven Groenveld to come out to speak to Sharapova who listened but said little to nothing in return.
She managed to pressure Brady to falter in the fourth ending the problems briefly. The former number one added a second win to her name gaining back control. The 30 year old leveled at three all with a powerful response on the break taking three break points before winning a third straight. The loss of ground concerned the American who wanted to get back on track by any means. In the seventh she reached 40-0 on the break but watched the former number one rally back. Brady avoided another force of deuce as Sharapova committed her sixth double fault to get back ahead on the scoreboard and try to consolidate on service.
With the set closer to a conclusion, the pressure was on Sharapova to act quickly to stop Brady from taking another step to press a deciding set. She won the important ninth game but still had work to do to keep her eyes on a straight sets victory. The former number one was very much showing struggles against the young player who continued to fight to get her way to play onward. Serving out the tenth, Brady made it a tough day for the Russian who had key unforced errors that resulted in both going to a final set.
Sharapova was first to act and did so with a win on serve that was just what she needed to remained a strengthened competitor. The 30 year old kept the heat on against Brady in the second delivering vicious shots. They were mirrored back at Sharapova but control was a problem late in the game that allowed her opponent back to deuce. It was the moment that gave the Russian a good footing to dictate on the break and take another one on the American.
The control remained in the hands of Sharapova who put together another service in the third to get halfway to the ultimate goal. Two games went quickly in the books giving the Russian powerhouse a huge 5-0 run that had Brady out of ideas on how to come back from such a large deficit. She was left with one final chance to stay alive with the serve in hand to try and avoid more than the dreaded bagel.
The 22 year old got into a tight spot with Sharapova as they reached deuce with one wrong move spelling trouble for Brady. It came on a double fault that gave Sharapova a second match point attempt sealing the deal to complete the two hour and two minute match. “She was able to play some great tennis,” Sharapova said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “I feel like I’m playing catch up against everyone who has already got a head start on me. All that matters is that I keep playing and ultimately the one that wins the last point. I get a chance to play another one and another one and hope that I continue.”
She’ll get the day off to prepare for her second round match up against Lesia Tsurkenko of Ukraine.
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