Sharapova Comeback Pushes Her Into Madrid Semifinals
May 9, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Maria Sharapova used a remarkable comeback Friday to defeat Li Na to advance to the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open. The Russian is seeking her first ever title at the Madrid tournament, but nearly saw it come to an end as she fell behind early to Li.
Li raced to an early first set lead, dominating the rallies and winning the set 6-2. She jumped out early in the second set and Sharapova was forced to dig in and make a strong comeback.
In the 11th game of the second set, Li Na made her first real mistake of the match, failing to convert two break points that allowed Sharapova to even up the set. The errors would continue to mount for the Chinese player and the two would go to a third-set tiebreaker to decide the match.
Sharapova would break Li’s serve in the third set, and hold her own serve to clinch the match following Li’s 43rd unforced error 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. The match was incredibly close as each player won 93 points, and came down to just a few plays in the final set.
Sharapova now moves to a 41-3 overall record on clay surface since the 2011 French Open, and awaits the winner of the match between Agnieszka Radwanska and Carolina Garcia for her semifinal opponent.
