Maria Sharapova was out of sorts to find her tournament over quickly at the Qatar Total Open Monday night. The skills of Monica Niculescu forced the Russian into trouble late that gave her a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. It was the fourth big win for the 30-year-old that allowed her to advance into the round of 32.
This their first head to head match with Sharapova taking time off since her third-round finish at the Australian Open. While returning to the Grand Slam down under didn’t produce the results she wanted, being back in Doha gave her comfort to begin another tournament strong. The Romanian had journeys through Taipei and qualified for the Open to get her biggest challenge right off the bat. It would take a lot for her to get the job done and make an upset possible.
She got level with the Russian in the opening frame but watched the superstar gain a footing in the set. Winning breaks against the Romanian allowed her to dictate a way to 4-2 breaking her once more to serve for the set. The wind became a factor during her service in the eighth but managed to control her own to place the ball in the right places.
She got into trouble as deuce was forced by Niculescu who then went on to save three set points winning the break. The Romanian added another win for good measure sitting 4-5 after her two wins. It took her to the tenth where despite blowing another set point chance, Sharapova got the set under her belt after 61 minutes of effort put in. She had four double faults in the set that led to her low first serve percentage and 18 unforced errors.
Sharapova broke Niculescu to begin the second set but holding her off became a real troublesome feat. By the fourth game, it was even at two all with the Romanian very much in the competition against the former number one. She broke Niculescu in the fifth regaining the lead but double faulted for the sixth time in the set that allowed the 30-year-old to level once more. She did well on her serve that it gave her the lead in the seventh with the hope of forcing a third set being possible. After a successful hold in the ninth, she broke Sharapova to consolidate a win of the set in 57 minutes setting up a pivotal deciding set.
Both began by breaking one another but the leverage stood with Niculescu who broke Sharapova with greater force in the second game. It remained a fight for control through the next five games with the Romanian always getting the best of the Russian. She gained a 5-3 lead in the set having a lot of comfort on the court while adding a lot of pressure to Sharapova whose game was not in the right motion.
Niculescu served for the match taking the first two points against a defeated Sharapova who had little to show in the ninth. With three match points, the 30-year-old won it on an error from Sharapova who put too much pep on the ball ending things in 2 hours and 38 minutes. With a very popular opponent out of the running, Niculescu would await the winner between Fatma Al Nabhani and Magdalena Rybarikova.
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