MELBOURNE: Former champion Maria Sharapova enjoyed a winning return to the Australian Open as she wore down Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-1 6-4 on Tuesday to take her place in the second round.
The 30-year-old Russian, who served a 15-month doping ban last year after testing positive for banned substance meldonium after her Melbourne defeat by Serena Williams in 2016, met some rugged resistance but had too much power for Maria.
There was plenty of support for 47th ranked five-times grand slam champion Sharapova with regular shouts of "C'mon Masha, we've missed you" around the Margaret Court Arena.
Her opponent was actually one place higher on the WTA rankings and the same age as Sharapova, but there was a vast difference in pedigree with the German never having gone beyond the third round in 22 previous grand slams.
Sharapova, who won the title 10 years ago, dropped serve to lose her only game in the opening set, although the rallies were often drawn out with Maria showing tenacious scrambling skills.
She was made to work harder in the second but sealed victory with an ace to book a second round against either 14th seed Anastasija Sevastova or Varvara Lepchenko.
"It's been a couple of years since I've been here so I wanted to enjoy the moment and it was really meaningful to be out here today," Sharapova said in a post-match interview.
"I've got shivers, I cherish these moments."
Sumber
Tennis: Sharapova enjoys winning return to Melbourne
Related Posts :
Litar Sepang tidak akan jadi projek ‘gajah putih’, kata PMPelumba Mercedes AMG Petronas, Lewis Hamilton diarak menaiki kereta antik sebelum memulakan perlumbaan di Litar Antarabangsa Sepang (SIC), 1… Read More...
Tema Mahakarya, ini senarai lagu bintang AF Megastar
KONSERT AF Megastar minggu ketiga diteruskan lagi pada minggu ini dengan tema Mahakarya.
Seramai sembilan bintang yang berjaya mara … Read More...
“Ini bukan masanya untuk kita beli kenderaan baru, ubai suai pejabat kerajaan” – Azmin sanggup potong peruntukan untuk jabatan demi rakyat
Datuk Seri Azmin Ali berkata, pihaknya terpaksa memotong peruntukan untuk jabatan kerajaan di negeri itu bagi memastikan program pembanguna… Read More...
Kucing harga RM10,000 mati: Imadi Pet Global Sdn Bhd bakal saman pelanggan kerana cerita viral menyebabkan kerugian pada syarikatnya
SYARIKAT Imadi Pet Global Sdn Bhd akan menyaman pasangan suami isteri yang juga pelanggannya sebanyak RM2.5 juta di Mahkamah Tinggi Sivil… Read More...
“Saya hanya mahukan pembelaan terhadap kematian suami” – Isteri arwah anggot TLDM
“Saya hanya mahukan pembelaan terhadap kematian suami,” kata Nur Liya Asmira Yahya, 24, isteri Allahyarham Muhammad Lailatulman Mohd Sukri,… Read More...
0 Response to "Tennis: Sharapova enjoys winning return to Melbourne"
Post a Comment