Maria Sharapova was dominated heavily at the China Open Wednesday at the National Tennis Stadium. Simona Halep had answers to everything in her match and allowed her opponent very little opportunities winning 6-2, 6-2 on centre court. It was the first time she had defeated the Russian in her career and the first time this season that Sharapova lost in straight sets since her return in April.
The Russian faced yet another potential eighth victory over her Halep in a fight for a quarterfinal spot. Since 2012, Sharapova defeated the Romanian every time including at the US Open first round where the world number two had everything going against her. Halep still hasn’t found her momentum as world number two but has won her last two matches with the last one ended in an early retirement by Magdalena Rybarikova.
Sharapova wasn’t lucky to get a hold on Ekaterina Makarova Tuesday as she went the distance with her countrywoman and smashed in the final set. It was the third time the former number one played three sets with the possibility of playing another with Halep.
The Romanian made a big statement right off the mark with a triple break of Sharapova. The Russian was allowed easy points in her service game where she tried to recover from it. Sharapova laid down a smash on return, securing her victory early on but the challenge of holding on serve was becoming the big wonder in the match.
The first getting it done was Halep in the fourth game after she broke the world number 104. It was a real confidence booster for her achieving a 4-1 run over the former number one. She kept the vice grip in the set with a second service hold with heavy pressure on Sharapova. She held for the first time in the seventh despite putting down her third double fault, hoping to get back into contention. When Halep had control back in the next game, she made it her mission to hold firm and bring an end to it.
It was a huge lead for the world number two who wanted to gain a footing in a tournament with her current stance in the rankings. After 32 minutes, it was a stunning performance by the Romanian who had just one unforced error through eighth decisions. Sharapova racked up 20 to her name going 6 of 13 on the first serve and scored twice on ten shots.
The second started differently with Sharapova holding in her opening service game followed by Halep doing the same. The breaks returned with Halep pinning down the first that came in the third. As the pace became familiar to the world number two, she got back to anticipating the moves of Sharapova which ultimately led to her climbing ahead on the scoreboard. The Russian gained another hold of serve in the fifth but the margin was heavily favoring Halep who was in her own comfort zone taking it point by point.
The second seed was well under control as she gained her fifth win of the set with a great chance at pulling off her first win over Sharapova with the serve in hand. Halep slowly dismantled the Russian in the eighth reaching two match points that finished with a wide return bringing an end to 72 minutes. While it was clear that Sharapova’s game was well below her normal standards, the Romanian had a lot to do with her inabilities as well as assisting in a high 39 unforced errors for Sharapova when it was all over.
The victory while strong was just what Halep needed to overcome tough moments sitting high up in the ranks. She would hope for further results taking on the winner between Agnieszka Radwanska and Daria Kasatkina on Thursday.
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