By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, September 1, 2018
Maria Sharapova demolished error-prone Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-2, raising her US Open night record to 23-0 in rolling into the fourth round.
Photo credit: @US Open
NEW YORK—Extended evenings aren't typically part of Maria Sharapova's schedule.
The devoted morning person continues powering through New York nights.
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In a clash of Grand Slam champions, Sharapova pulled the plug on an error-prone Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-2, streaking into the US Open fourth round for the seventh time.
Ostapenko scattered 41 errors—23 more than Sharapova, who hit one more winner (11 to 10).
Beneath the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sharapova shined, raising her record in Flushing Meadows night sessions to a sparkling 23-0.
In the city that never sleeps, Sharapova can't be stopped at night.
"Undoubtedly the energy you get from playing [is key]," Sharapova told ESPN's Rennae Stubbs afterward. "No doubt I feed off this crowd energy. It helped me get through. All of us spend hours on end training on the back courts. It's really inspiring playing on this court in front of this crowd. Every time I walk through that tunnel it still feels like my first time here."
While Sharapova is a shining light at night, top 10 seeds continue to go dark.
The 10th-seeded Ostapenko is the seventh Top 10 seed to fall before round four.
The 2017 Roland Garros champion joins Wimbledon winner Angelique Kerber, fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova and sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia in departing the draw today.
No. 29-seeded Dominika Cibulkova fended off the fourth-seeded Kerber, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Carla Suarez Navarro out-dueled Garcia, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4), for her fourth Top 10 win this season and first victory in three meetings with Garcia.
The 30th-seeded Spaniard will face Sharapova for a quarterfinal spot.
The opening game recalled the physicality of Sharapova's 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-5, win over Ostapenko that spanned three hours, 11 minutes on the red clay of Rome earlier this year.
The 10th-seeded Ostapenko fended off five break points holding firm in the 12-minute opening game.
That was really Ostapenko's best moment of the match.
Both women are power-based baseliners at their best straddling the baseline and blasting the ball into the corners, but Sharapova struck with conviction and played cleaner tennis for much of the match.
The 21-year-old Ostapenko scattered 19 errors in first five games as Sharapova stretched her lead to 5-1.
"She plays so incredibly aggressive," Sharapova said. "On the one hand, it's amazing when it's going well. But I feel like if I'm consistent enough and aggressive enough I can force errors hitting the angles."
Confronting a deficit, Ostapenko was prone to prematurely pulling the trigger on the down-the-line drive, which is her weapon but a high-risk tactic against the depth and power of the five-time Grand Slam champion.
Ostapenko broke back for 3-5, but a ruthless Sharapova rocketed returns right back at the 2017 Roland Garros champion's feet breaking back at love to take the first set in 44 minutes.
The 22nd-seeded Sharapova committed just eight unforced errors compared to 27 for her opponent in the first set.
They traded breaks to start the second set before Sharapova spit up her fourth double fault to gift the break and a 2-1 lead to the Latvian.
On this night, the 2006 champion had an emphatic answer.
Sharapova surged through a five-game run, including breaking for 4-2 when a skittish Ostapenko spun a 71 mph second serve to net.
The 31-year-old Russian closed in 82 minutes raising her record to 20-10 on the season. Sharapova has won four of five meetings with Suarez Navarro, who stands between the former champion and a quarterfinal clash with either Cibulkova or 2017 finalist Madison Keys.
"I'll be facing a lot of spin," Sharapova said. "A one handed backhand, one of the best on tour, and there not many. I've lost to her before. It's gonna be a physical match and I'm gonna be ready for it."