U.S. Open: Maria Sharapova advances to the 3rd round.
NEW YORK - No one, not even Maria Sharapova herself, knew quite what to expect from her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open.
It had been 19 months since she had entered a major tournament. She played only nine times anywhere since a 15month doping suspension ended in April. Two three-set tussles into her stay at Flushing Meadows, it’s clear that Sharapova’s game might be patchy, but she is as capable as ever of coming up with big strokes in big moments — and maybe, just maybe, could stick around for a while in a depleted draw.
Sharapova became the first woman into the third round at the U.S. Open by using 12 aces to help set aside a poor start and coming back to beat Timea Babos of Hungary 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Look, I certainly have expectations, just because I know I’ve been in these stages before and I’ve been able to execute. There’s a certain level of ‘I know I can do this. I’ve done it before. I want to have that feeling again,’” Sharapova said.
“But there’s also the realistic understanding of, ‘OK, you haven’t been in this situation for a while. It’s going to take a little time.’ Of course, managing expectations is part of it, learning as you play the matches, which is something I haven’t done for a long time.”
Her victory was the highlight of a busy day that featured 87 singles matches on the schedule after rain washed out most play a day earlier. With so many matches going on, there were plenty of names to keep tabs on, although few truly remarkable results.
The most noteworthy second-round loss was by No. 4 Alexander Zverev, a 20-year-old German who despite his lofty seeding and considerable potential has only once been as far as the fourth round at a major. He was beaten by Borna Coric 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4).
Past U.S. Open champions advancing included Venus Williams and Marin Cilic into the third round, and Juan Martin del Potro and Svetlana Kuznetsova — who saved three match points — into the second. No. 14 Nick Kyrgios, No. 22 Fabio Fognini, No. 26 Richard Gasquet and No. 27 Pablo Cuevas all lost their openers.
In the early going, it looked as if Sharapova might join them on the way out.
She made 19 unforced errors in the first set, which ended with her missing twice on forehands to give the 59thranked Babos the lead. But as the match went on, Sharapova looked more and more like someone who used to be ranked No. 1 and owns five major titles — including the 2006 U.S. Open — than someone who needed a wild-card invitation from the U.S. Tennis Association because she is now 146th, on account of her ban and lack of play.
Sharapova last participated in a major tournament at the 2016 Australian Open, where she tested positive for the newly banned heart drug meldonium. She declined to answer a reporter’s question about how frequently she’s been drug-tested this year.
Babos said she thought it was “a little bit unfair for the other players” that Sharapova was let into the field, a sentiment echoed by No. 20 seed CoCo Vandeweghe of the U.S., who would have preferred that an American get that wild card.
But here Sharapova is, and she does not appear ready to be an easy out.
“Towards the end of the second set, I felt like I was the fresher player. Going into a third set, that’s a good position or a good feeling to have,” said the 30-yearold Russian, who wore a strip of black tape on the left forearm that bothered her earlier in the month.
She also had a sleeve on her right elbow, which she said was to keep that arm warm. Phoenix Mercury are using the team's regular-season finale as a fundraiser for hurricane relief in the Houston area at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
The "Sunday is for Houston" game will include a $1 donation for every ticket sold by the Mercury, whose average attendance is 9,822.
Griner is hosting BG's Breakfast for Houston at 10 a.m. at the arena with a $100 per person admission fee to be donated. Space is limited.
The Mercury will be selling a special T-shirt at team shops with a $2 donation for each shirt sold, and cash donations will be accepted before the game. Griner and teammates will also host a live auction after the game. home and will open a three-game series against the New York Mets on Saturday.
The Astros had to relocate their series against the Texas Rangers this week to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, because of catastrophic flooding in the area in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The Astros will return to Houston on Thursday night after their game against the Rangers.
Astros president Reid Ryan says: “We hope that these games can serve as a welcome distraction for our city that is going through a very difficult time. We hope that we can put smiles on some faces.”
The Mets series was scheduled to begin on Friday, but instead a Saturday doubleheader is planned and the finale on Sunday.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova’s storied run to the 1985 NCAA championship and won more than 800 games in his career, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 82.
Massimino’s death was announced by Keiser University, where he was still the men’s basketball coach. He spent the final days of his life in Hospice care.
Best known for that national title at Villanova, Massimino also coached at Stony Brook, UNLV and Cleveland State. Massimino spent the last 11 years of his life at Keiser, where he started the program and turned it into an NAIA power.
He was a finalist for enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
INDIANAPOLIS - Maya Moore scored 18 points, Sylvia Fowles had 12 points and 13 rebounds for her 19th double-double, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 80-69 on Wednesday night.
Skylar DigginsSmith had 28 points and eight assists, Glory Johnson added 25 points, and Dallas secured a playoff spot with a victory over Chicago.
SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners are attempting to bolster their beleaguered starting rotation in the midst of the AL wild-card race by acquiring right-hander Mike Leake from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Mariners and Cardinals made the trade Wednesday, the second time this summer the Mariners have acquired a starting pitcher from the Cardinals. Seattle previously traded for Marco Gonzales. Seattle acquired Leake, cash and international slot money from the Cardinals for minor league infielder Rayder Ascanio.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - No. 16 Florida has suspended two more players, including starting running back Jordan Scarlett, for its season opener against 11th-ranked Michigan.
The Gators also suspended receiver Rick Wells, bringing to 10 the total number of Florida players suspended for Saturday’s game in Arlington, Texas.
Scarlett and Wells were suspended indefinitely for their roles in a debit card fraud. Seven others, including leading receiver Antonio Callaway, were suspended Aug. 13 for reportedly purchasing items at the campus bookstore with their student identification cards, which didn’t have sufficient funds for the transactions, and later selling the items for cash.