Maria Sharapova Struggles in 2008 French Open Debut
Posted by Aaress Lawless on May 28, 2008 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
Maria Sharapova came close to making French Open history in Paris on Wednesday.
At one stage during her opening round match today, Sharapova was only two points away from a first round upset.
The top-seeded female player has never been beaten in the first round of Roland Garros, although Sharapova flirted with breaking that statistic today.
After over two hours of play, top seed Maria Sharapova battled past her countrywoman Evgeniya Rodina on Wednesday in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 8-6.
Her shots were wild, her trademark confidence was only evident in patches, and her serve was clearly off as Sharapova hit seventeen double-faults, the most of any male or female player so far in the tournament.
Sharapova is most vulnerable during the early rounds of a major, a weakness many of her opponents have attempted to exploit.
Camille Pin gave her a scare in the 2007 Australian Open first round before Maria fought to a 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 win. Her 2007 US Open title defense was ended in the third round by Agnieszka Radwanska, who managed to get into Maria’s head for a lopsided 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win.
Today in Paris, it was No. 104 Evgeniya Rodina’s moment of opportunity. The nineteen-year-old Russian was competing in her first major, and her Grand Slam debut was one to remember.
Rodina’s zeal and aggression helped her stay with Sharapova during much of the last two sets, but in the end, Sharapova’s experience allowed her to close out the win on her first match point.
“I just hung in there,” said Sharapova to the French media after the match. “I was very close to losing this match.”
The top seed will play American Bethanie Mattek in the second round.
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