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Maria Sharapova Shows Flaws, Firepower In Open Win
By Joe McDonald
© Dave Saffrin
(August 31, 2010) It’s no surprise many are picking Maria Sharapova to regain her Grand Slam champion status during this Flushing Meadows fortnight. After all, the 2006 US champion has a wide open field and nemesis Serena Williams, who beat Sharapova in the Wimbledon fourth round, is sidelined with a bad foot.
So today when she dropped the first set to Jamilla Groth, you had to wonder if the good Maria was back or the bad Maria, who struggled since coming back from shoulder surgery, was still around.
The 14th-seeded Sharapova answered that question in storming back for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
"I think she came out today and really swung and didn't give me much time to do anything out there," Sharapova said. "She served really well in the first set. I wasn't returning that well, giving her a lot of looks, you know, on second serves. Against a player like that, who kind of plays the 1‑2 punch type of tennis, you know, it's quite difficult to get a rhythm in the beginning."
Sharapova's experience as a three-time major champion was evident as she patiently picked Groth apart and stepped into the court to rip returns off second serves. Rattled at times by Sharapova's predatory posture on the return, Groth committed 12 of her 14 double faults in the final two sets.
"I just hung in there. Between the first and second set, I knew that it wasn't over," Sharapova said. "In tennis you have either two or three sets to play. So I still knew I had my chances."
Shaking off the first set stutter, Sharapova found her form and cruised in her first US Open match since losing to American sweetheart Melanie Oudin in the 2009 third round. She needs to send a message as a potential quarterfinal with top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki looms early next week in what would be a blockbuster clash between two of the most photogenic players in the game.
First, Sharapova needs to continue to finish her matches strong. Next up is Iveta Benesova in the second round and as of right now, she is still trying to find her form in this Open.
Sharapova didn't exactly sound like she was stressed out.
"Based on my results in the past,” she said, “I've been in different situations coming into a Grand Slam playing really well in the beginning, playing well throughout, or starting quite slow and then finding my game throughout.So it depends. It really depends on the tournament, the situation, your opponent, really getting through matches. Days like this where your opponent was playing really well, you really have to find, you know, ways to hang in there and ways to fight. And at the end of the day, just hope you give yourself another opportunity."
Sharapova actually looks the strongest since she had shoulder surgery back in October 2008. When she came back last year, her serve looked weak as she was recovering from the injury. But now, she’s fully healthy and time to turn the page.
"Yeah, last year with my whole game, I was just trying to find, you know, where my feet were on the ground, just trying to find my position, see how I could handle playing a lot of matches under different circumstances," Sharapova said. "You know, this year, you know, a whole year with the tournaments and experience, it feels really good to be healthy coming in, just playing and not worrying about, uhm, how physically you feel."
Earlier this season, Sharapova took two smaller tournaments the first was in February in Memphis and then right before Roland Garros in Strasbourg. But these smaller tourneys are not what she’s looking for. Not with three Grand Slams under her belt, yet none since the surgery.
"Experience helps," she said. "But, I don't know, it's really at the end of the day about going out there and doing it and finding the mental strength, the physical strength, you know, challenging yourself to go out there and be better every day."
And today Groth learned that from Sharapova and now Benesova looms as the next obstacle.
Joe McDonald is the publisher of TennisLedger.com where this article originated.
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