Maria Sharapova yesterday cruised past Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas and into the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open in China.
Sharapova, who won 6-3, 6-3, struck 24 winners and five aces to stay on course for a title clash with top-ranked Simona Halep after the Romanian dismissed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2.
Former No. 1 Sharapova, who has worked her way up to No. 59 in the world rankings since her return from a doping ban last year, is to face Czech sixth seed and defending champion Katerina Siniakova in the last four in southern China.
Sharapova, 30, who is unseeded in the tournament that serves as a buildup to the Australian Open, is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month doping ban in April last year.
“I didn’t play my best tennis and there’s certainly a lot of things to improve on in the next. The great thing is that I’m through and have another chance to play tomorrow,” said the five-time Grand Slam champion, who won the Tianjin Open in October last year for her first title since her ban, after defeating Diyas 6-3, 6-3 in 89 minutes.
Sharapova committed 22 unforced errors in the match, but stepped up her game at decisive moments of the contest to get past her spirited rival.
“I feel like I’m having a nice little tour of China. It’s my fourth Chinese city in a few months,” Sharapova said. “It’s obviously been a great welcome here. It took many years for me to play this event, but I’m really glad that I did.”
Sharapova plays Katerina Siniakova next after the defending champion beat fellow Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-2, 6-2.
Earlier, fourth-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu had to work hard to overcome Timea Babos 7-5, 7-5 to set up a semi-final meeting with her compatriot, Halep.
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LeBron James is in quite the shooting slump — especially from long distance, highlighted by his zero-for-four effort from three-point range for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 109-80 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. That return stretched the nearly-40-year-old’s skid to zero-for-19 from deep over his past four games. James’ birthday is on Dec. 30. After going four-for-16 from the floor overall with six of his team’s 20 turnovers for a season-low 10 points against the Timberwolves, James was asked to reflect on the Lakers reaching the quarter mark of their 2024-2025 schedule under rookie coach J.J. Redick at 12-9. “I
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS