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Sharapova has easy return at Open
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Published: September 2, 2009
NEW YORK - Maria Sharapova couldn't bear the thought of a U.S. Open without her, and when she was sidelined with a shoulder injury last year, she refused to follow it on TV, basically pretending it wasn't happening.
But last night, Sharapova, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, was where she likes to be -- on the Grand Slam stage and in the spotlight. She made an impressive return in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.
"I was in the physical-therapy office every single day, and the tennis was on. But I made a point not to watch it," Sharapova explained. "When you're not participating in a tournament that you very much love, and you've had success at … to not be there and not be competing is pretty tough."
Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam title winner, had 29 winners -- 23 more than Pironkova -- and her game was particularly clean in the second set, when she had 16 winners and only five unforced errors. Apart from four double-faults, Sharapova showed no signs of the shoulder injury that forced her to have surgery in October and kept off the tour for nearly 10 months.
"This is a Grand Slam. You've got to get going from the first match," she said. "After being gone, this is what it's all about."
Earlier yesterday, Dinara Safina came perilously close to becoming the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose in the U.S. Open's first round before squeezing past an 18-year-old from Australia ranked 167th and in the tournament on a wild-card invitation.
The worst showing by a top-seeded woman in New York came last year, when Ana Ivanovic lost in the second round. Seeded 11th this time, Ivanovic lost in the first round to 52nd-ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
"It hurts. I can tell you that," Ivanovic said. "I'm sure I will have sleepless nights."
Nearly undone by 11 double-faults and 48 unforced errors, Safina was a point away from a 4-0 deficit in the third set before coming back to beat Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.
"I was surprised that, you know, she was giving me free points," said Rogowska, who never has defeated anyone ranked better than 47th.
"I'm disappointed I lost, and I didn't expect to say that after playing the No. 1 player in the world. It's a bit weird."
Ivanovic was not the only seeded player who was upset: 276th-ranked Jesse Witten of Naples, Fla., knocked off No. 29-seed Igor Andreev of Russia 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; Nicolas Lapentti defeated No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-3; and Ivan Navarro defeated No. 27 Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5).
Also, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium defeated No. 16 Virginie Razzano of France 6-4, 6-3, and Shahar Peer of Israel eliminated No. 32 Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-2, 6-2.
Other winners included 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, past runners-up Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic, No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 13 Nadia Petrova.
Men's winners included No. 2-seeded Andy Murray, last year's runner-up. He defeated Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 in last night's last match.
Also advancing were Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 runner-up in Australia, as well as No. 10 Fernando Verdasco, No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 16 Marin Cilic, No. 17 Tomas Berdych, No. 22 Sam Querrey, and Taylor Dent, who eliminated Feliciano Lopez of Spain 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 7-5 in his first U.S. Open since 2005.
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