By Erik Gudris | Sunday, March 23, 2014
Maria Sharapova, needing nine match points, finally won a tense three set thriller versus Lucie Safarova to reach the fourth round in Miami.
Photo Credit: AP
Maria Sharapova, still seeking her first ever title at the Sony Open in Miami, found herself forced to go an extra set to reach the fourth round on Saturday night.
That was due to the determination of Lucie Safarova who hung tough with Sharapova right to the very end. Both players stayed level with each other throughout the opening set before Sharapova squeezed out a break to take it 6-4.
Safarova would jump out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. But Sharapova would claw right back to soon level at 4-all. A tiebreak ensued a few games later with Sharapova holding two match points. Safarova didn't buckle as she saved both and then denied her opponent a straight sets result by winning the set 7-6(7).
Sharapova resumed control by breaking Safarova to start the final set. Though Sharapova roared out to a 5-2 advantage, she still couldn't close out a still fighting Safarova who saved six more match points in the final game with spectacular winners.
On her ninth match point, Sharapova finally secured the 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-2 win. Both women shared a friendly hug up at net despite the hard fought three hour battle that started in the daytime but concluded at 10 p.m. to end the day session.
"Well, I mean, she was coming up with some really good shots. There was not really much that I could do," Sharapova said later about the final game. "She's going for her shots and she was hitting winners on the run. I tried to stay focused, and I think I did a good job of that. It would have been very easy to let that game go."
Sharapova felt the match was an important one for her as she continues to gain confidence after her recent layoff.
"These are the kinds of matches I need to build my strength and where I need to feel my shoulder is holding up and I can hit a serve over 1000 miles an hour. That's really important for me right now."
Sharapova will next face Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.
Vandeweghe Upsets Stosur to Reach Fourth Round
Young American Coco Vandeweghe posted yet another upset in the early morning at an event filled with many seeds exiting early.
Vandeweghe faced off against No. 16 seed Sam Stosur in a match delayed by the day session finishing late. Despite wrapping up the match at 2:30 in the morning, Vandeweghe secured a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 victory to reach the fourth round of Miami for the first time.
She'll next face top seed Serena Williams.