Sharapova Avoids Upset in Wuhan as Ivanovic and Radwanska Fall in Round One

Maria Sharapova notched another three-set win on Monday, defeating fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second-round of the inaugural Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

Sharapova committed 20 unforced errors in the opening frame as Kuznetsova hit a number of remarkable ground strokes that chased Sharapova baseline to baseline. Kuznetsova would take the first set 6-3, putting Sharapova in a familiar position, having to win the final two sets in order to come out victorious.

After the 20 errors in the opening frame, Sharapova became much more efficient, and had just 13 unforced errors in the final two sets combined. Along with the reduction in errors, she hit 25 winners in the two frames to blow past Kuznetsova for the three-set victory.

“She [Kuznetsova] was a very difficult first opponent for me, so I was happy with the way I played in the second and third sets. I wasn’t waiting for her to give me the match,” said Sharapova. “I really stepped up after the first set, and that was really important.”

The victory marks her 18th win in three-set matches, by far the most on the tour. It also moves her one step closer to her first ever title in China.

She moves into the third-round and a matchup with either Timea Bacsinszky or Ekaterina Makrova.

While Sharapova avoided the upset bid by Kuznetsova, the upset bug caught a number of the world’s top players in Wuhan Monday.

A day after Serbian Ana Ivanovic defeated Caroline Wozniacki for the Pan Pacific Open title, she retired from opening round match to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova due to a thigh injury. At the time, the ninth-seeded Ivanovic trailed 5-7, 5-6 and was one game away from a defeat.

The Russian Pavlyuchenkova battled through nine double-faults in the opening set to come out victorious. She draws a second-round bout with Australian Casey Dellacqua, who knocked out Italian Roberta Vinci 7-5, 7-5.

Fifth-seeded Agniesza Radwanska saw her tournament come to an end in the second-round at the hands of France’s Caroline Garcia. The unseeded Garcia battled back from a set down to upend Radwanska 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(7).

“It was a tough match from beginning to end. I was just worse today in those two points in the end,” said Radwanska, who could have qualified for the WTA Finals if she had reached the final here. “Of course I had my chances before that, but game by game and point by point we had a lot of good rallies, and I could have done better and stepped forward in certain moments.”

The sixth-ranked player in the world was two games away from winning the match in straight sets, but allowed Garcia to battle back and capture the second set. She even led 6-5 on serve, but too many errors allowed Garcia to sneak out the win.

“It’s a pretty different game playing Venus one day and Radwanska the next day, but I just play the same game from my side,” said Garcia, who knocked off Venus Williams in her first-round match. “On the court I just always try to play aggressively, no matter who the opponent is in front of me. I really try to believe in myself and believe I can do it.”

The 20-year old now moves into the third-round, and will play the winner of former world number one Jelena Jankovic and American Coco Vandeweghe.

The 14th-seeded Lucie Safarova and 15th-seeded Flavia Pennetta were among the other seeded players to lose on Monday. Safarova fell to big-serving Sabine Lisicki, who won 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Pennetta, who reached the U.S. Open quarters before falling to Serena Williams, saw her run at the Wuhan Open end early. Australian qualifier Jarmila Gajdosova hit ten aces as she cruised 6-1, 6-4 over the Italian.

U.S. Open semifinalist Peng Shuai was knocked off by German Mona Barthel in straight sets. She draws a matchup with Eugenie Bouchard, who received a first-round bye.

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, who received first-round byes as well, will be in action on Tuesday in Wuhan.