By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, September 28, 2015
Maria Sharapova's comeback was cut short in Wuhan today as she retired from her opener against Barbora Strycova, while holding a 2-1 third-set lead.
Photo credit: Wuhan Open
Maria Sharapova's return to tournament tennis ended with a premature parting in Wuhan today.
Sharapova split two tie break sets with Barbora Strycova and held a 2-1 lead in the third when she retired due to an apparent left wrist and foream injury.
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It was Sharapova's first match since she lost to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
The second-seeded Russian, who had been sidelined with a leg injury, took an injury time-out with a 2-1 third-set advantage. After consulting with the trainer, who massaged her forearm, Sharapova pulled the plug after two hours, 41 minutes of play.
The 41st-ranked Strycova advanced to the round of 16 where she will play either Caroline Garcia or CoCo Vandeweghe for a quarterfinal spot.
Garcia hit 12 aces and 10 double faults defeating 16th-seeded Sara Errani, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, in her opener. Vandeweghe was a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victor over Lesia Tsurenko.
Sharapova had control of the first set before Strycova rallied to force the tie break.
Backing Strycova up behind the baseline with the depth of her blasts, Sharapova used a pair of well-crafted drop-shot winners to take a 3-0 lead in the breaker. She stretched the lead to 6-0 on a Strycova double fault, sealing the 70-minute opener on an errant backhand return.
Leading 2-1 in the second set, Strycova took a timeout to have her right thigh taped.
"Sometimes she plays a little more aggressive, that's okay stick to your plan," Sharapova's coach Sven Groeneveld said during the break. "Keep hitting with depth...You have one purpose keep refocusing on that."
While Sharapova showed no signs of compromised movement lingering from the leg injury, rust was apparent at times in her shot selection and inability to stretch her lead in the second set.
The five-time Grand Slam champion broke for a 4-3 second-set lead. Strycova broke right back for 4-all.
The veteran Czech cranked up her forehand in the second-set tie break. A brilliant running forehand winner down the line struck from the doubles alley gave Strycova a 3-1 lead. She stumbled briefly with a double fault but hammered a biting serve and smash for triple set point. Plastering a forehand winner down the line, Strycova leveled the match after two hours, 20 minutes.