Sharapova overcomes shaky start to beat McHale
Taking advantage of another wild card upon her return from a doping ban, Maria Sharapova overcame a shaky opening set to defeat 58th-ranked Christina McHale 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the Italian Open on Monday.
Sharapova was broken in the opening game and went on to drop serve twice more in the first set before finding her groove.
A three-time champion in Rome, Sharapova is still rediscovering her form after returning to the WTA Tour last month following a 15-month ban.
Tournament organizers were criticized for giving a wild card to Sharapova instead of former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, an Italian.
But fans cheered and held up signs of encouragement for Sharapova. Her next opponent will be Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat former French Open finalist Lucie Safarova 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Sharapova could face topranked Angelique Kerber in the third round.
She edged Lucic-Baroni in three tough sets in Madrid last week but then lost to Eugenie Bouchard.
With her ranking at No. 211, Sharapova does not qualify directly for the top tournaments.
At the start, McHale was able to run down balls in the corners and make Sharapova play extra shots, which she often missed.
But once the second set began, Sharapova was in total control and began to resemble the player who won the trophy at the Foro Italico in 2011, 2012 and 2015.
Sharapova led 21-7 in winners and committed 22 unforced errors to McHale’s 25.