Maria Sharapova’s route into the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open took an unfortunate turn at the expense as her rival in the second round.
The former world No.1, who was trailing by a set, secured a place in the last eight after Chinese wildcard Wang Xinyu was forced to retired injured. 17-year-old Wang looked to be on course for a huge upset after snatching the first set before serious cramping in her left leg and a resurgent Sharapova turned the match outcome around. Giving Sharapova the 6-7(4), 5-2, ret win.
In the immediate aftermath of Wang’s retirement, Sharapova went over to console her. Telling the two-time junior grand slam doubles champion that she ‘played unbelievable.’ Before helping put a towel over the teenager’s leg to keep her warm.
“I said [to her] that being healthy is the most important thing, but if she continues to play the way that she did today, I think she has all the right tools to be a champion,” Sharapova told reporters.
“It’s not the way either of us wants to finish the match, win or lose. I thought [Wang] was absolutely the dominant player in this match, and had all the opportunities to win it, even though I felt like I was finding my stride and getting a little bit closer to the line and being more aggressive.” She later added.
"You played unbelievable"@MariaSharapova has a great moment with Wang Xinyu after the wildcard is forced to retire at 6-7(4), 5-2. #ShenzhenOpen pic.twitter.com/3RyfnG7TgK
— wta (@WTA) January 2, 2019
Sharapova’s reward will be a showdown with top seed Aryna Sabalenka in what will be a repeat of the 2017 Tianjin Open final. The last time Sharapova won a title on the WTA Tour. Sabalenka dropped only six games during her 6-3, 6-3, win over Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in her second round match.
Aryna Sabalenka def Ekaterina Alexandrova 63 63 #ShenzhenOpen pic.twitter.com/aRs9gu27N6
— Shenzhen Open (@ShenzhenOpenWTA) January 2, 2019
Also through to the quarter-finals in Shenzhen is qualifier Monica Niculescu. The former top 30 player required almost two-and-a-half hours to get past Kristyna Pliskova 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4. Niculescu, who hasn’t won a WTA title since October 2016, will next face China’s Wang Yafan. Yefan is the only home player remaining in the draw.