It was nothing with another title start at Maria Sharapova: Caroline Garcia defeated the three-time Stuttgart winner 3:6, 7:6 (6), 6:4
By Florian Goosmann from Stuttgart
Maria Sharapova and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: actually a pure love relationship. From 2012 to 2014, the Russian won in Stuttgart and laid the foundation for her change to a sand court specialist and double French Open winner; last year, of all places, she returned to Stuttgart after her doping ban and made it directly to the semi-finals – with impressive tennis.
Since then the Sharapova engine has been stuttering, the 31-year-old had to pause again and again due to minor injuries and recently dared a new start with former coach Thomas Högstedt, with whom she had already worked from 2010 to 2013 – a good choice, it seemed, at least at the beginning of her opening match in Stuttgart.
Sharapova got off to a powerful start and, after a commanding service game, took the break straight to the set win, it was one of the strongest appearances of the past 12 months from the point of view of the five-time major winner. 20 out of 25 points on her own serve, Garcia didn’t get a break.
In the second set, Garcia had more action on serve Sharapova and finally used her fourth break chance for 4-2, but Sharapova countered directly and had two opportunities for 5-4, but Garcia kept his nerve. In the tiebreak, Sharapova initially fended off three set points at 3-6 and Garcia benefited from a simple Sharapova forehand into the net at the fourth.
In the third round, both women kept the match open until 4-4 despite two early serve losses, then Garcia managed the decisive break, which she missed despite 0:30 deficit to win the match. “I played more aggressively towards the end, that was the key,” said the overjoyed world ranking seventh after her first victory over Sharapova in the fifth attempt.
Overall Sharapova scored 106 points, Garcia 104 points; Sharapova was also leading 39:25 in the winner/non-compete error statistics compared to Garcia’s 25:25 – but the Frenchwoman was there when it came to the Big Points.
In round two, Garcia will face 15-year-old Marta Kostyuk, who won round one of the main draw against Antonia Lottner after having qualified.
In the early afternoon, five seeded Karolina Pliskova had already reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kiki Bertens. There she meets the Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro or Veronica Kudermetova from Russia. In the evening Julia Görges and defending champion Laura Siegemund intervene.