US Open 2014: Maria Sharapova credits ‘superior shape’ for edgy victory
US Open 2014: Fifth seed Maria Sharapova battles past world No95 Alexandra Dulgheru in three sets
Maria Sharapova credited her “superior” fitness after the fifth seed edged past Alexandra Dulgheru to reach the third round of US Open on Wednesday.
The five-time Grand Slam champion dropped the first set 4-6 to her opponent, who is ranked No95 in the world, before launching a fight back at Flushing Meadows.
It’s really good to get through a match like this, where you put yourself in a really tough position
Maria Sharapova
Sharapova won 10 of the final 13 games of the match to see out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory, setting up a third-round encounter against No26 seed Sabine Lisicki.
“She played really well,” Sharapova said. “I started off really well, but didn’t take the opportunity to go up 3-0. Then she started getting a little bit of a rhythm.
“The conditions were tough. You start in the sun; you finish under the lights. It was a very long match, but in the end I felt like I was in superior shape and could have played a few more sets. Mentally, that helped me a lot.
“It’s really good to get through a match like this, where you put yourself in a really tough position, but then you’re able to find a way to get back in it and finish really strong.”
Sharapova holds a 5-1 head-to-head advantage over Lisicki, although the former world number one lost to the German in their most recent Major meeting at Wimbledon in 2012.
