Maria
Sharapova earned a big victory while under pressure at the Mutua Madrid Open Wednesday. The
2014 champion fought hard against clay specialist Kristina Mladenovic who
faltered during moments that gave her the 6-3, 6-4 win on
Arantxa Sanchez Court at La Caja Magica. It was Sharapova’s first advance to a
quarterfinal since January and one she was happy to earn.
The two have ways of defeating one another in the sport
which the French star has to her advantage in the Spanish capital. Last year
she took down Sharapova in three sets denying her a finals appearance in
Stuttgart. The 24-year-old is a specialist on clay and a runner up from last
year giving her a lot of confidence to make her title run.
She battled the Russian in the opening game gaining many
opportunities to earn the break which occurred on the fourth of deuce. Mladenovic
forced Sharapova to make some mistakes that resulted in an easy service hold
and a 2-0 lead. The Russian broke in the third to end the early shutout but
needed some advice from coach Tomas Hogstedt during the break. His suggestion
to move in on the ball wasn’t working out as the backhand from the French star
took its toll in the fourth earning her two game points. She put the game away
returning her two-game margin that spelled a momentum build up for the 24-year-old.
Sharapova kept the score close putting her serve to work
attacking Mladenovic’s backhand returns. Her strategy turned into a serve to
love that had her much more focused than the previous games combined. It was soon
level terms between the players as Sharapova added winners into the mix; forcing
Mladenovic to one side of her game before smashing a winner the other way.
The 31-year-old earned her first lead change having the
range and ground strokes down to a science. With another break of Mladenovic,
the Russian had her eyes set with service for the set in hand in the ninth. The
Frenchwoman got into a short tie but an unforced error gave Sharapova set point
where she fired high on a fly ball that set up deuce. She dealt with another
one but nailing a return down the line set up her third chance which Sharapova
did not waste ending 39 minutes. The dictation made by Sharapova was thanks to winning
70 percent on the first serve while landing more aces/winners than unforced
errors.
With the thought of being down a set, Mladenovic held to
open the second and fought hard to overcome the 0-40 hole Sharapova dug out. When
she etched out her first point in the second, Sharapova scored her second ace
and third of the match to stay on serve. They went through the next four games
holding their service games until a break chance came to the former number one
creating three break points. She won it on a long ball that ended the rally and
gave her the lead change.
The tide of control was very much in the hands of the
Russian who orchestrated a serve to love against Mladenovic putting the French
star under serious pressure. She somehow got to 40-0 but watched it come apart
at the hands of the former number one who was on a mission to close out the
match. Mladenovic avoided letting it happen on her watch and stayed alive for
just another game. It was there that the 31 year old brought her best game
forward landing a winner followed by an ace down the center line.
Going back to her attack on the backhand, Sharapova’s aggression
and intensity earned her two match points where a cross court shot came back
into the net from Mladenovic ending her day in 1 hour and 32 minutes. Sharapova
launched the offense at the right moments during the match scoring 30 winners
and nine aces against Mladenovic. With her game in the right shape, she’ll go
for a spot in the semis for the first time in four years facing surging Dutch
star Kiki Bertens on Thursday.
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