US OPEN Sharapova wins, Kyrgios crashes

New York, Aug. 31: Former world number one Maria Sharapova battled back Wednesday to reach the third round of the US Open while nextgeneration rising stars Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios crashed out.

Sharapova, who downed second-ranked Simona Halep in her first Grand Slam match after a 15month doping ban, defeated Hungary’s 59th-ranked Timea Babos 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It wasn’t my best tennis,” Sharapova said. “It was scrappy tennis but sometimes those kind of matches are a lot of fun and this was one of those days.”

The 30-year-old Russian, who next faces Russianborn US teen Sofia Kenin, tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, her most recent Grand Slam appearance until this week.

Sharapova, whose five Grand Slam titles include the 2006 US Open, played only one Open tuneup match after a forearm injury but wore down Halep and Babos to prove she’s a threat for a deep run, with Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova her top-ranked potential semifinal obstacle.

Fourth seed Zverev, whose five ATP titles this year include a win over Roger Federer in this month’s Montreal final, fell to 61st-ranked Croatian Borna Coric 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4).

Coric, who faces South African Kevin Anderson for a last-16 berth, was one point from a fifth set before winning five in a row to force the deciding tie-breaker.