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Maria Sharapova, a former champion who is relying on wildcards after her drug suspension takes on second seed Simona Halep in the first round of the US Open. Join The Roar for live scores from 9am (AEST).
If there’s ever been a more intriguing first round match, I’d like to hear about it. You could just hear the collective gasp go up around the Tennis world when Sharapova was drawn against Halep for the first round.
Women’s draws often turn out to be unpredictable, but this could throw the tournament wide open. In six previous meetings, all occurring before Sharapova’s ban, Halep has never beaten the five-time grand slam champion.
In defence of Halep, she hadn’t really begun her rise to the top of the sport in 2015, having only been in one previous grand slam final at the 2014 French Open – but the winner of that final? Sharapova.
Halep comes into the tournament having enjoyed a strong yet frustrating run through 2017. She lost the French Open final in a monumental upset against the unseeded Jelena Ostapenko and was bundled out in the quarter finals at Wimbledon.
Scanning further back though, she lost in the first round of the Australian Open, and will be hoping that’s not an omen. Since Wimbledon, she has had a quarter-final in Washington, a semi-final in Toronto and a final appearance against tournament favourite Garbine Muguruza in Cincinnati.
While she’s not setting the world on fire, Halep’s form has been strong and consistent, which is more than can be said for Sharapova.
The Russian, who was overlooked for a wildcard at the French Open has been struggling badly with injury as she continues to rise through the world rankings, now sitting inside the top 150.
After taking some time off after Rome in May to try and recover, she came back at Stanford. Picking up an impressive first round victory over Jennifer Brady showed promising signs, but they were all thrown out the back door when she couldn’t step on court in the second round.
She hasn’t been sighted in a match since, but by all reports Sharapova is training well, and as already mentioned, her record speaks for itself. She knows how to get it done in big moments, and the pressure on Halep in a first round match like this will be immense.
Prediction
This is an incredibly hard match to predict. It’s been so long since Sharapova has been on the big stage, but she so often rises to the occasion. Still, Halep is the second seed for a reason and in good form. With injury plaguing the former champion as well, Halep is going to take a thriller.
Halep in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this first round match from 9am (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.