Sharapova’s run in Stuttgart is over
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC produced a stunning comeback to end Maria Sharapova’s run at the Porsche Grand Prix and take her place in today’s final.
The 23-year-old French world No.19 looked to be heading for defeat after losing the first set 6-3 and then finding herself broken again by Sharapova at the start of the second set to trail 0-2.
However, Mladenovic then recovered to break Sharapova, who had not lost a set so far at the tournament, and level the match at 7-5.
Although Sharapova rallied to get the deciding set back on serve, it was Mladenovic who found her range of passing shots when it mattered, closing out her first match-point chance to complete a 3-6 7-5 6-4 victory in two hours and 39 minutes.
In the final set, Mladenovic was left to serve for the match, but Sharapova showed her fighting spirit had not diminished in the enforced time off court by producing a recovery of her own as a drop shot into net from the Frenchwoman saw her break to put a tense encounter back on serve at 4-5.
From trailing 30-love, it was Mladenovic who made the most of her net chances to move on to match point, which was delivered when Sharapova failed to return a passing shot.
Sharapova, a wild card entry, was playing her first tournament following a 15-month doping ban after a positive test for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, with the original two-year ban reduced.
The ranking points Sharapova has collected from her return to action mean she is already close to rejoining the top 250 on Monday, but victory in the semi-finals would have guaranteed a spot in the top 200.
As a result, that would have been enough to earn her entry into the qualifying tournament at the French Open without the need for a wild card.