Sharapova stays alive
PARIS — This is what Maria Sharapova does. She digs herself a big hole in a match, then figures a way out, no matter what it takes.
She hits shots lefthanded. Takes her time between points. Pumps her fists and screams “Come on!” after her opponent’s mistakes. And wins.
Did it in the fourth round at the French Open, turning things around by winning the last nine games. Did it Tuesday, too, reeling off nine of the last 10 games to put together a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over 35th-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain that put 2012 champion Sharapova in the semifinals at Roland Garros for the fourth consecutive year.
“When you just don’t feel like anything is going your way, you want to try to find a little door to get into,” Sharapova said. “Once you start feeling, you know, like you got your foot in the door, then it’s a little bit easier.”
After beating one 20year-old, Sharapova now faces another, 18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who earned a semifinal spot for the second straight Grand Slam tournament.
Like Sharapova, Bouchard was not fazed by falling behind in the quarterfinals. Bouchard trailed 5-2 in the first set, and 4-1 in the third, but beat No. 14 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-5.
“I’m just proud,” Bouchard said, “of the way I stayed in there.”
Tuesday’s men’s quarterfinals offered far less intrigue. No. 2 Novak Djokovic kept up his bid to complete a career Grand Slam by muting Milos Raonic’s dangerous serve and defeating the eighthseeded Canadian 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Djokovic’s next opponent is No. 18 Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who followed his victory over Roger Federer with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 6 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
Djokovic, 27, and Gulbis, 25, go way back, having overlapped in their early teens at a German tennis academy. Their paths quickly diverged, with Djokovic focusing on tennis and thriving, to the tune of six major titles. Gulbis admits he enjoyed the nightlife too much for his game’s good.
Only recently di d Gulbis realize he needed to take his job more seriously.
“It’s really important, for my happiness, just to be successful on the tennis court,” Gulbis said. “Forget about the money. Forget about fame. It’s just about my inner comfort. That’s it.”
Djokovic will be playing in his 22nd career Grand Slam semifinal; Gulbis in his first.
Similarly, Sharapova is headed to her 18th, Bouchard her second. Bouchard is 7 years younger, and tracked Sharapova’s career from afar.
“First I noticed, like, her cute dresses and things like that when I was young,” said Bouchard, who recalled being a spectator at a tournament in Florida as a youngster and posing for a photo with Sharapova.
“She, of course, is very strong mentally. It is one of her strengths, I think,” Bouchard said. “I’m just looking forward to the challenge.”
For 18 miserable minutes against Muguruza, Sharapova did nothing right. She lost 15 of the first 20 points and fell behind 4-0. AP