Maria Sharapova’s first opponent after her 15-month doping suspension says the Russian should not have been granted a wild card for the Porsche Grand Prix or upcoming tournaments.
Roberta Vinci, who faces Sharapova in a highly anticipated first-round match late today, does “not agree” with organizers giving Sharapova a free passage into the main draw.
“She is a great player and I have nothing against her. She paid for her mistakes,” Vinci said on Monday. “She can return to play, but without any wild cards, without any help.”
Sharapova’s suspension for using the heart drug meldonium after it was banned at the beginning of last year ends today.
Vinci joined the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Angelique Kerber in speaking out against wild cards for players who return from a doping suspension.
“I know [Sharapova] is important for the tennis, for the WTA, for everything,” Vinci said. “She is a great person, a great player, a great champion, but this is my opinion.”
World No. 36 Vinci said she would try to forget about the wild-card debate before the match.
Vinci expected “a lot of the crowd on Wednesday to be [cheering] for her [Sharapova], but I don’t know about the players. A lot of players will agree with me on the wild card.”
Vinci lost all four sets and scored only four games in her two previous matches against Sharapova on hard courts, but on a different surface and against an opponent who is lacking match play, the Italian fancied her chances.
“I know it’s tough to return after a long time,” Vinci said. “She is probably happy about her comeback ... but practice is a little bit different from a match. You have to be focused every single point.”
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