It was a warrior-like match for a warrior-like competitor. Maria Sharapova once again defied the odds with a thrilling 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1, win over Timea Babos at the US Open.
The Russian wild card had high hopes heading into the match. A day ago, she dismissed second seed Simona Halep in a three-set thriller. Grabbing her first win over a top 10 player since returning to tennis in April following a doping ban.
“It was definitely tough to control the emotions yesterday because as much as I wanted to be happy about that match and what I accomplished there. You want to move on really fast. Finding that balance is really hard.” Sharapova said during her on-court interview.
The match on the Arthur Ashe Court was a clash of two different world’s. Sharapova has accumulated over $36 million in prize money during her career and spent a total of 21 weeks as world No.1. Meanwhile Babos’ earnings stand at just under $4 million and she is yet to break the top 20.
Despite the disparity between the two players, Babos had the ability to tame Sharapova’s attacking play at the start of the match. The passion invested from both players was noticeable from the onset with grunting echoing around the court. Sharapova blasted shots around the court, but struggled to find a consistent level. Meanwhile, her Hungarian opponent was determined to capitalize on her opportunity.
A roller coaster opening set was a tale of cat and mouse. With Sharapova getting broken twice before later clawing her way back to draw level. Babos’ investments into the encounter rewarded her a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. Once again, she was denied as the former champion hammered forehand shots around the court to draw level at 5-5.
Babos’ breakthrough occurred in the tiebreaker against a lacklustre Sharapova. An eight-shot rally concluded with a forehand into the net from the Russian, moving Babos to set point. The lead was then secured after a mistimed Sharapova forehand landed beyond the baseline.
Hopes of another mighty fight back from the 30-year-old slowly appeared in the second set. Sharapova raced to a 2-0 lead, before a nightmare service game allowed Babos back into the match. As the pressure mounted, so did the error count from the Russian. Nevertheless, it was her champion-like fighting spirit that brought her back into the match. Surviving a five-deuce game to level 3-3, Sharapova then broke in the following game on route to forcing the match into a decider.
“I think that in the second set I just felt physically fresh and that gave me a lot of confidence. I know I have played a lot of tennis in the last few days compared to the last couple of months and I just used that as confidence.” She commented about the turning-point.
Carrying the momentum, there were no signs of a Babos comeback. Sharapova’s intensity in the match proved too powerful as she started the final set by winning five consecutive points. Racing towards the finish line, she was gifted a double break for 4-1 after a failed Babos drop shot. The threat posed by Babos was no more as the wild card sealed the win with the help of a backhand error from the Hungarian.
“Today I felt going into the match I just wanted to get done. It wasn’t my best tennis. I felt that it was a scrappy match, but I feel that some of those days are sometimes the best because you get through and give yourself a chance. I felt that this was one of those days.” Sharapova evaluated.
Winning only her second grand slam match in 19 months, Sharapova produced 12 aces, 39 winners and 36 unforced errors.
