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By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 28, 2017

 
Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova reeled off five straight games conquering qualifier Anett Kontaveit, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to her fourth Stuttgart semifinal.

Photo credit: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Discussion and debate swirled around Maria Sharapova receiving wild cards for her return from a 15-month doping ban.

Three matches into her comeback, Sharapova has shifted the dialogue to a declaration of dominating intent.

Watch: Sharapova Comeback Controversy

A focused Sharapova played ruthless first-strike tennis conquering qualifier Anett Kontaveit, 6-3, 6-4, to roll into her fourth career Stuttgart semifinal.

Competing with energy and urgency, the three-time Stuttgart champion played the most dynamic tennis of her comeback for much of this match.

Finding her range and rhythm, Sharapova charged through five straight games transforming a 2-3 deficit into a one set, 1-0 lead that she eventually extended to 5-2.



One of Sharapova’s lone mis-steps came when she failed to serve out the match at 5-3, but she broke right back to close in one hour, 23 minutes.

“I thought I had a really good rhythm,” Sharapova said afterward. “When you don’t know your opponent too well, I think the first six games we were both just trying to figure out each other’s game and getting used to it. We were both holding serve quite comfortably. When I got my opportunity, I felt I really rolled with it and gained confidence from that as well.”

Sharapova smacked 25 winners against 12 errors raising her Stuttgart record to 16-1 and adding further fuel to her rankings rise.

The former world No. 1 is expected to rise to about No. 260 by reaching the final four and could rocket up to as high as the Top 125 in the world by reaching the final.

Watching Sharapova perform at such a high level so quickly into her comeback is like watching a sprinter running downhill—she seems to pick up the pace and confidence with each step.

“I think it’s part of being a competitor,” Sharapova said. “We all work too hard not to come out here and not to give it everything you have until the last point. I think we owe it to ourselves because of the dedication we have to have as professional athletes so that’s kind of the way I think about it. It’s important to have that intensity not just for the first point, but for the last—that also helps you.”




The 21-year-old Estonian showed her class surprising reigning Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza for her first career Top 10 win en route to her first Stuttgart quarterfinal.

Facing the woman she calls one of her “tennis idols”, Kontaveit played well for much of the match but could not match Sharapova’s powerful strikes on pivotal points.

Sealing the sixth game with an ace, Sharapova took control of the match breaking for 4-3. An imperious game saw Sharapova fire and ace and a forehand winner down the line backing up the break at love.

Crunching a forehand winner down the line, Sharapova gained triple set point. Lunging for a stab backhand return off a dangerous serve down the middle, Sharapova quickly got her balance and blasted a backhand winner down the line winning eight of the last nine points to snatch a one-set lead. Sharapova hit 12 winners against just four errors in a clean 35-minute set.

The two-time Roland Garros champion powered through love holds in her opening two service games of the second set then slammed an inside-out forehand winner breaking for 3-1.

The 73rd-ranked Kontaveit, who like her opponent can crack the ball down the line, earned her lone break for 2-3.

Undaunted, Sharapova broke right back then blasted through a quick hold at 15 to extend the lead to 5-2.

Credit Kontaveit for steering through a challenging hold in the eighth game forcing Sharapova to serve it out.

A double fault and a couple loose errors put Sharapova in a double break point bind 69 minutes into the match.

A biting second serve into the body saved the first break point. The slider serve set up crackling inside-out forehand winner for deuce. Sharapova saved a third break point burying another deep serve only to commit her second double fault of the game for a fourth break point. Sharapova denied it but dragged a backhand into net for a fifth break point. More than eight minutes into the game, Sharapova stung the center stripe with a big serve but nudged a drop shot into the tape.

Kontaveit’s hard-fought break put her back on serve, 4-5.

A reassuring visit from Sharapova’s coach, Sven Groeneveld, followed with the coach urging his charge to refocus, watch the ball, stay the course and continue to dictate with her returns.



Slashing a flat backhand winner down the line, Sharapova earned match point. One final screaming return closed an impressive 83-minute victory elevating Sharapova’s career clay-court record to 135-26.

Continuing her quest for a 36th career title, Sharapova will play Kristina Mladenovic for a place in the final.



The 19th-ranked Frenchwoman did not drop serve dispatching 25th-ranked Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3, 6-2, in today's second quarterfinal.  It was Mladenovic's first win over the Spaniard in three career matches and came a day after she defeated top-seeded German Angelique Kerber, 6-2, 7-5.

Reigning Roland Garros doubles champion Mladenovic, Kerber, world No. 1 Andy Murray, Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova and Genie Bouchard are some of several players who have opposed tournaments awarding wild cards to Sharapova following her 15-month doping ban.

The Mladenovic-Sharapova semifinal could spark with the intensity of a grudge match. 

In an interview with French publication Le Parisien, Mladenovic said Sharapova's colleagues on the WTA Tour believe she's "a cheater" and suggested one reason Sharapova received little sympathy after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium was because "she wasn't really well liked... she wasn’t really nice nor polite, let’s be honest.”

“All the other players are saying she’s a cheater,” Mladenovic told the paper. “You sure doubt and think that she didn’t deserve all she won until now. That’s dreadful, but it’s good that it’s finally out...

“She’s been taking this drug for 10 years and it’s a serious drug. She has played with the rules and thought, if it’s not banned, then I can take it. She can play with words and find a good lawyer but on the principles of the situation, she’s wrong. She has no excuse that can defend what she’s done. For me there’s no doubt.”

 

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