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08:17, 01-Oct-2017
Sharapova takes revenge on Sevastova at China Open
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Russian wildcard entry Maria Sharapova beat No. 16 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia
7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-6 (7) in the first round of the WTA China Open in Beijing on Saturday.
In the duel lasting three hours and five minutes, the five-time major champion
nabbed an early break of Sevastova's serve to storm to a 1-0 lead. After wasting
three match points, the veteran grabbed the chance at the fourth and sealed the
win.
Maria Sharapova of Russia plays against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in a first round match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing. /AFP
Maria Sharapova of Russia plays against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in a first round match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing. /AFP
"Now I am happy that I am still moving forward. I think this is a good sign as
she [Sevastova] is the person who beat me before," Sharapova said.
Sharapova was ousted by Sevastova in the fourth round of the 2017 US Open.
In an all-Czech match, 12th-seeded Petra Kvitova stunned Kristyna Pliskova, who
is world No. 4, 6-3, 7-5. Kvitova had been knocked out by China's Peng Shuai in
the first round of the Wuhan Open four days ago.
Maria Sharapova hits a return to Anastasija Sevastova in the first round match at the China Open in Beijing. /AFP Photo
Maria Sharapova hits a return to Anastasija Sevastova in the first round match at the China Open in Beijing. /AFP Photo
In other first round matches, second seed Simona Halep of Romania beat American
Alison Riske 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in 132 minutes, while WTA top-ranked Angelique Kerber
of Germany eased past Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-2, 7-5.
On lotus court, home star duo Wang Qiang/Wang Yafan crashed out of the women's
doubles first round after losing to Dutch-German duo Kiki Bertens/Julia Goerges 5-7, 3-6, while another Chinese pair Han Xinyun/Liangchen advanced to the next
round.
13km
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency