Sharapova handed wildcard, Murray hits out

FIVE-TIME Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has been given a wildcard to play in the Italian Open in May, organisers said on Wednesday.

The former world No1 makes her return to the circuit in Stuttgart in April after completing a 15-month ban for doping.

“We officially announce the wild card for the 3-time Rome champion @MariaSharapova into the main draw . . .” organisers announced on Twitter.

Sharapova hasn’t played on tour since testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open. An initial two-year ban by the International Tennis Federation was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Rome tournament runs from May 15 to May 21. She has also been handed a wildcard for the May 6-13 Madrid Open.

However, the decision to hand the Russia n w i ldc a rd s i nto t h r e e of Europe’s prestigious clay court events was cr it icised by men’s world No1 Andy Murray.

“I think you should really have to work your way back,” Murray told the Times. “But most tournaments will do what they think is best for their event. If they think big names will sell more seats, they’re going to do that.”

Murray refused to elaborate on his standpoint on Wednesday after reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai ATP event.

“I spoke about it yesterday and made my opinion pretty clear,” he said.

“I have been answering questions on this honestly for over a year now, and I don’t know what else I am supposed to say.”

Former world No1 and 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer was also reluctant to get involved in the Sharapova controversy after suffering a shock second round exit to Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai.

“Could see it either way, depending on who you are, and I don’t know if it matters what the cause was for being banned because . . . it’s all sort of the same – banned is banned, you know,” said the 35-year-old Swiss.