Maria
Sharapova’s late push in a fight at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia
ended in victory Tuesday evening. Despite a long delay before the competition,
the former world number one came out against heavy competitive spirit from Ashleigh Barty to win in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 at
Next Gen Arena on the grounds of Foro Italico. The win snapped Sharapova’s
three first round losing streak to advance to the second round.
This was the first meeting between the two players and a
critical moment for one of them to make a stand at the start of the tournament.
Barty made her first appearance in the main draw and found herself pitted
against the 2015 champion who last season couldn’t make it beyond the second
round. While the Aussie doesn’t have the best record on clay, she had the
chance to counter any problems that the former number one rolled into like she
did last week in Madrid. With very little time before Roland Garros, Sharapova
needed more than ever to find consistency to get back into the groove of being
an enforcer.
She forced Barty into a drawn out game on deuce playing
through two breaks before the Aussie eventually held. The Russian opened her
service with a double fault that opened the chance for Barty to make a threat.
Sharapova saved the break, forcing deuce to go on holding the second game. The
effort rewarded her in the third breaking the 22 year old for the lead and more
earning her first serve to love in the fourth.
Reluctant to let the set get away from her, Barty answered
in kind to the three time champion and got back within reach. Her unforced
errors once again rattled her fight that handed Sharapova another margin gap.
Despite having double digit unforced errors, the young Australian swung back to
within one landing her second ace of the day. It wasn’t enough to stop the
former number one from closing in on the set as she put down another good
service hold in the eighth.
Barty was on the edge serving in the ninth but got through
to hold her opponent off with a shot at forcing the set to its limit. After some encouragement from coach Craig Tyzzer
during the break, she employed some tactics that flustered the Russian into
some mistakes. She fell 0-40 due to a suffering first serve that allowed Barty
to gain more play in the set. A big hiccup in the Aussie’s serve gave Sharapova
a chance to redeem the issues. After two free points from back to back double
faults, the 31 year old rallied on break point to lead 6-5 with her opportunity
to regroup on serve and end it. Firing well to land winners in the 12th,
the Russian completed the set in 45 minutes, making it difficult for Barty to
return on.
She made it a mission to dictate in the second set scoring a
triple break on the 22 year old but couldn’t handle herself in the next game. Just
when it looked as if there was a change in control occurring, Sharapova fought
to stay neck and neck in the fourth in what was the longest game of the match.
They spanned five breaks and 18 points before the Russian got the win. The
temperature began to drop below 60 degrees.
The energy put into the previous game saw Barty struggling
on serve committing a fifth double fault. The Aussie forced deuce to stay alive
on serve and come out with her first lead of the set. The 22 year old made it
4-2 hoping to pressure the Russian to return to shaky serves going forward.
Sharapova had a statement in form but let all her chances for break point slip
away making it possible for a third set to be played. Sharapova prevented the
set from ending on her serve making every chance to rally back on the score and
save the match from moving forward. On a chance that got her to deuce with
Barty, Sharapova made a critical error on the return that handed the 22 year
old a real shot at pulling off a victory against the Russian.
After a short break off the court, Sharapova returned to
begin the third set with a hold of serve but struggled to defend well in the
following game. Despite losing her early opportunity, the 31 year old held in
the third, consolidating it with a break thereafter. It was soon 4-1 as a third
consecutive hold for the three time champion who fired big shots to Barty while
she rifled shots back that the former number one dealt with.
The gap wasn’t a big worry for the Australian as she found
herself in the same situation with positive results. She took hold in the sixth
but watched as Sharapova etched back out to three games between the two playing
for the match in the eighth. Barty was under the gun committing her seventh
double fault on serve but played every point she had left to play. It came down
to two match points where Barty saved one and got to deuce on a long ball from
the Russian.
Getting into pressure herself, Sharapova dropping two shots
at match point but got a third on a bad hit off the racket for the Australian
to end the match in 2 hours and 31 minutes. With the conditions changing
throughout the match, Sharapova would hope for a better forecast as she faces
Dominika Cibulkova next.
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