Maria Sharapova got the result she wanted at the China Open despite taking longer to get it. The returning superstar went all the way against Ekaterina Makarova to hang on to her series lead and add an eighth win over her winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 on Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing
The two haven’t met since Stuttgart when the former number one made her return to tennis going to the fourth round in her seventh victory over Makarova. While there hadn’t been any strong runs in some time, the 30-year-old hoped to keep her streak alive against her fellow countrywoman and produce positive results in the final WTA premier of the season.
Makarova began with a break of the Russian that she felt was the right statement to bring against the superstar. Sharapova responded with a break of her own followed by a hold that gave her some leverage early. It was a 4-1 run on her countrywoman until issues with the serve began to build up. Her second serve was hit by the double faults that racked up giving Makarova easy wins with six total.
It was soon a one game margin for the former number one that had her attempting to regroup fast after the seventh. She pushed to gain two more wins that brought a close to the first set in 41 minutes. Makarova’s return game was hard hit landing 6 of 17 and 9 of 28 on the serve giving her the notion of needs for improvement in the next stanza.
Makarova made good on her fight taking the first two games before Sharapova was able to get herself together. The victory was brief as Makarova went back to her winning ways taking a 4-1 stance looking to capture a set if she allowed herself. Sharapova took a chat with Sven Groeneveld who told her what to fix before the sixth game which she played on. Makarova assisted with handing Sharapova another win as a bad double fault gave her opponent the break to cut the score in half.
It became a one game split after Sharapova’s service hold sent Makarova into frustration. Tomas Högstedt came out to console her and let her know that she could still win this if her ability to contain the emotions happened in her game. She showed such abilities by holding once more in the eighth that put the former number one on the edge of playing three. She avoided the loss and held her own in the ninth with every chance of defending against
Makarova going forward. She was unable to do so as the 29-year-old held ground to force a pivotal third set that broke back of Sharapova’s seven straight set wins over her to now play to the distance.
Makarova got the opening game win but it was all she would see as Sharapova put the pedal to the metal to quicken the pace. She won the next five straight games that set up a perfect way for her to end the match on her own terms. The 30-year-old served out to three match points where a bad return from Makarova brought an end to the 2 hour and 12-minute bout that advanced Sharapova deeper into the tournament.
While it took longer than she wanted to be out on court for, Sharapova’s ability to dictate the final set clearly had her in play to continue in the premier tournament. She would get the chance to prove it again facing the winner between Magdalena Rybarikova and Simona Halep in the third round.
No comments:
Post a Comment