By Chris Oddo | Thursday January 3, 2019
Aryna Sabalenka rolled into the semis as a hobbled Maria Sharapova retired with a thigh injury.
Photo Source: Shenzhen Open
Aryna Sabalenka continued her torrid start to the season without much resistance from a beleaguered Maria Sharapova in Shenzhen on Friday, as the Belarusian skated past Sharapova in a lopsided opener then traded blows with the legendary Russian until Sharapova’s body gave out.
The end result was a 6-1, 4-2 RET victory for Sabalenka and a spot in the semifinals.
Sabalenka and Sharapova met in the finals of the Tianjin Open in 2017, with the Russian winning in two tight sets, but a more confident and physically developed Sabalenka looked superior to the 31-year-old on Friday.
That said, it’s hard to gauge just how much Sharapova was bothered by her thigh injury, and the fact that her right shoulder was also taped during the match. After a first-set shellacking, Sharapova went off court to see the trainer, and returned to fight on.
She kept things level through four games, but Sabalenka turned up the heat and won the next two before Sharapova pulled the plug.
Sabalenka, who has now won 26 of her last 32 matches since her first-round match at Cincinnati last summer, will meet either Monica Niculescu or Wang Yafan in the semifinals.