Sharapova Set for Stuttgart Semis Showdown With Errani
In a match that between two of the top 10 women’s players in the world, Russia’s Maria Sharapova and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska battled for a spot in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
With her Top 10 status on the line, Sharapova looked to move closer to defending her two-time Porsche Grand Prix title. The match started off slowly as each player failed to capitalize on their serve and the two traded games.
Down 0-40 in the eighth game, Sharapova fought back to win the game and hold serve, giving her a 5-3 lead in the set. After Radwanska was unable to track down a Sharapova serve, the Russian took the first set 6-4.
As Sharapova finally looked to have regained her form in this match, she carried that momentum into the second set. The ninth-ranked player the world jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks in part to two early break points. Radwanska would hang tough and win a few games, Sharapova’s lead had ballooned to high and she eventually captured the set 6-3 to give her the straight set victory.
"I think at the start I wasn't being smart at the right times and wasn't constructing the points well on my serve," Sharapova said. "But I think the key was that game that I was able to win after being down 0-40.”
Sharapova is now into the semifinals where she will face Sara Errani, who was leading Carla Suárez Navarro 6-3, 6-7(6), 3-0 when Navarro was forced to retire with a wrist injury. Errani has lost all four of their previous meetings in straight sets against Sharapova, with the most recent of these coming last year in Miami.
"It'll be a very difficult match, of course," said Errani of Sharapova. "She's very strong and very aggressive on this court so it will not be easy to play but I will try to do my best.”
