Zheng battles past Sharapova
China’s Zheng Jie battled past former champion Maria Sharapova 6-3,
2-6, 6-3 Sunday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. Zheng,
whose run to the Australian Open semi-finals along with that of
compatriot Li Na electrified Chinese tennis, next faces Alicia Molik,
with a chance to avenge her first round loss to the Australian in Dubai
last month.
Molik, a 29-year-old who is on the comeback trail after a second
career-threatening ailment, cruised into the round of 16 with a 6-0, 6-2
victory over British qualifier Elena Baltacha.
But Zheng toiled for two hours, 43 minutes to dispatch the
10th-seeded Sharapova - the second set alone taking 68 minutes.
“It was a tough match,” Zheng said. “The second set, I still had some
chances, a lot of games went to deuce.”
Sharapova was impressed by Zheng’s tenacity.
“She’s like a ball machine,” Sharapova said. “She hits a lot of balls
back, hits them hard and deep.
“I mean, I’d say I should have done a much better job on her serve,
because her serve is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game,
but... “After dropping her serve in the first game of the third set,
Zheng broke back immediately. Sharapova broke again to take a 3-2 lead,
after which she received treatment on court on her elbow - and didn’t
win another game.
“I just felt like I couldn’t really extend it all the way,” Sharapova
said. “It was a little stuck.”
Sharapova said the elbow had been bothering her since she arrived at
Indian Wells, and was a hindrance on her serve.
For Zheng, the injury timeout was a welcome breather.
“It was good fighting for the final set,” she said. “I think it was
2-3 down, and I came back to 6-3. It’s not easy. I’m so tired.
AFP |
