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Maria Sharapova got out of her epic first round match at the US Open and will now look to push on when she plays the struggling world No.59 Timea Babos. Join The Roar for live scores from around 5am (AEST).
Sharapova’s match in the first round was dubbed by many the final come early, with the former champion using her wildcard to access the main draw after spiralling down the world rankings thanks to her drug suspension.
It was hardly believable when the draw came out and she was matched up against the second seed Simona Halep. The match lived up to the hype as well, and it’s hard to not call it possibly the best first round match-up in the history of grand slam tennis.
After taking the first set 6-4, Sharapova then went off the boil slightly in the second to fall 4-6, with the match entering its third set.
Sharapova had to fight hard, but she eventually took it 6-3, sending the No.2 seed out of the draw. It opens things right up for the Russian moving forward, who looks to be in good form after struggling with injuries on the run in to the Open.
In fact, she took almost a full month off after a second round exit in Stanford. That followed a three-month lay-off after she was injured in Rome.
While her comeback has been strong, injuries have gotten in the way so she will be happy to have gotten through a long three-setter in convincing fashion.
Babos, on the other hand, has been playing plenty of tennis, but rarely winning. Since a first-round exit to Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon, she has gone out in the second round at Toronto, first in Cincinnati and second in New Haven.
While she has lost to high-quality players, she hasn’t so much as won a set in any of her losses, which is a major concern in that she is getting blown off the court and simply unable to reverse it.
She put in a more convincing effort during the first round at the US Open, with Babos beating Viktorija Golubic in three 7-5 sets, dropping the middle one.
So often the wheels have fallen off after losing a set, so to see her fight back after dropping the second was positive. Competing with Sharapova though, is a different story altogether.
The pair have never played before this meeting.
Prediction
Babos is a fighter, but Sharapova is in a completely different class to her. Sharapova, knowing she has been nursing injuries will also be keen to get on and off the court as quickly as possible. This could be over pretty quickly.
Sharapova in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this second round match from around 5am (AEST) or at the completion of Henri Laaksonen verus Juan Martin del Potro on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and don’t forget to add a comment below.