Five-Time Grand Slam Champ Sharapova Makes Winning Return In Mallorca
19th June 2019
The five-time Grand Slam champion has not played since the end of January after taking time out to recover from a shoulder injury, but edged a tight opening set against Kuzmova before strolling through the second
- Maria Sharapova made a winning return from injury on Tuesday by beating Viktoria Kuzmova 7-6 (10/8), 6-0 to reach the second round of the Mallorca Open
- Victory on the grass will come as a timely boost to morale for Sharapova, with the start of Wimbledon now less than two weeks away
- Angelique Kerber now awaits Sharapova in round two after the top-seeded German defeated Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
MADRID, Spain-
Maria Sharapova made a winning return from injury on Tuesday by beating
Viktoria Kuzmova 7-6 (10/8), 6-0 to reach the second round of the Mallorca
Open.
The five-time Grand
Slam champion has not played since the end of January after taking time out to
recover from a shoulder injury, but edged a tight opening set against Kuzmova
before strolling through the second.
Victory on the grass
will come as a timely boost to morale for Sharapova, with the start of Wimbledon
now less than two weeks away.
"It's my first
win in about three or four months," Sharapova said afterwards.
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"It's great to
be here in Mallorca. What a great place to train and have a warm-up tournament.
It's been amazing for all of us here, and it's just been nice to experience it
for the first time."
Angelique Kerber now
awaits Sharapova in round two after the top-seeded German defeated Belgium's
Ysaline Bonaventure 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Kerber has struggled
for form herself this year but is likely to offer a sterner test than Kuzmova,
the Slovak ranked 46th in the world and who is still only 21.
Sharapova's own
ranking has dipped to 86 during her absence, meaning the Russian needed a
wildcard to enter the draw in Mallorca, her fourth tournament this year.
A tense first-set
tie-break required Sharapova to save two set points before clinching the frame
and Kuzmova never recovered, a limp second set ending with a half-volley
dropped into the net.
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Earlier, another
former major champion crashed out as France's Caroline Garcia came from behind
to beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Garcia maintained
momentum with an impressive victory over the Belarusian, fresh from winning her
first title of the year and seventh of her career at the Nottingham Open on Sunday.
The world number 28
will now face Spain's Paula Badosa Gibert for a place in the third round.