#MariaSharapova suffered a huge scare, but she managed to overcome a tough challenge from former top-10 player #TimeaBacsinszky in a blockbuster first-round clash at the 2019 #ShenzhenOpen. She had to recover from deficits in both sets to triumph in this thrilling encounter, prevailing with a 6-2, 7-6 scoreline after an hour and 42 minutes of play.
In their first match of the new season, Sharapova looked inevitably rusty while Bacsinszky also took some time to adapt to the chilly conditions which saw both players wear leggings and long-sleeved tops. Bacsinszky only managed to find five winners and produced 25 unforced errors while the Russian impressively blasted 23 winners although her high-risk play saw her hitting 30 unforced errors along the way.
A new racquet coupled alongside a new service motion developed during the off-season saw Sharapova serving at a high first-serve percentage of 74. She claimed 68 percent of first service points and managed to break serve on six different occasions, steamrolling her way to the straight-sets win amidst trailing 0-2 and 3-5 in the first and second sets respectively.
Sharapova overcomes a slow start to take the first set
It was Bacsinszky who made the perfect start to the match — rattling off eight of the first 10 points in the highly-anticipated encounter for an early 2-0 lead. The Swiss was firing on all cylinders, particularly on her groundstrokes as she often managed to overpower and outlast Sharapova at the baseline.
She looked on course to consolidate the break, when she was leading 40-30 in the third game. However, the turning point of the entire match soon arrived. Three consecutive double faults from game point up saw Bacsinszky being broken out of nowhere, allowing Sharapova to get onto the scoreboard.
A series of spectacular shots then saw Sharapova holding her serve for the first time en route to levelling the scores at 2-2. The momentum all shifted towards the Russian as the five-time Major champion went on to claim yet another break for the lead.
Bacsinszky was struggling to deal with Sharapova’s power and fearsome groundstrokes, and had troubles trying to anticipate her shots. Whereas, it seemed to be a one-sided affair for the fifth seed, who soon rattled off six consecutive games to grab the first set 6-2, a terrific rebound after the horrifying start.
Sharapova fights off Bacsinszky challenge to triumph
Sharapova broke out to a 0-30 lead in the opening game but Bacsinszky fought her way back to claim the confidence-boosting hold to start the second set with. Errors started leaking from Sharapova’s game, particularly from her forehand wing as she lost a 40-15 lead to get broken. Leading to a rise in confidence for Bacsinszky, she looked determined to send the match into a deciding set.
Four consecutive breaks came and went, before Sharapova ripped a hold to love to stop the streak. However, her confidence definitely suffered a huge blow when patches of inconsistency started to appear in her game once more — this time proving costly as Bacsinszky broke for a commanding 5-3 lead.
Just when everything seemed to be going wrong, Sharapova fought back from the brink once again. It is the ability to triumph amidst the difficult times which separates the champions and the normal players, and Sharapova perfectly explained why she was a former world number one with her impressive return game to break straight back immediately.
Earning her third love hold of the day, Sharapova looked on course for the straight-sets win when she grabbed another two break opportunities in the eleventh game. It turned out to be a marathon game, with Bacsinszky putting up an inspired display to hold her nerves during the pressurizing moments. The world number 191 went on to hold serve, ensuring a tiebreak at the very least.
A comfortable hold from last year’s semifinalist saw the set brought into a tiebreak. From 3-3, it was one-way traffic as Sharapova dominated the proceedings with her overwhelming power, claiming the win with Bacsinszky sending a return wide. It was a decent win to start the season for the Russian, considering the calibre of her opponent.
Comments