At the Premier Mandatory Event in Madrid, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka celebrated memorable opening victories. Top seeded Simona Halep also made the first step to the hat-trick at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Maria Sharapova won her first match since January 2018 at the Caja Mágica sports complex after three consecutive openers. 31-year-old Russian, currently number 53 in the ranking, performed well against Prague finalist Mihaela Buzarnescu (Romania) 6-4, 6-1.
“I think I’ve improved a few things lately that didn’t work out that way in the previous months. I guess that’s all I can expect from myself right now. Just to continue on the court,” said Sharapova, who last lost her opening game against Caroline Garcia (France) at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart almost two weeks ago.
The former world number one won the title in Madrid in 2014. It was a good omen for Sharapova, as only a few weeks later she triumphed for the second time after 2012 at the French Open. She who had made her peace late with the red ashes. Sharapova had once complained that she was moving on sand like “a cow on the ice”. Past!
Sharapova will now meet another Romanian in the match for the leap into the round of 16 of the event, which is endowed with 6.69 million euros. Irina-Camelia Begu had already eliminated the current Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia/No. 5) 6:3, 6:3 on Saturday.
The two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka (28) also celebrated an emotional success. She had not left the USA recently due to a custody dispute over her son Leo (1) and is playing her first tournament on European soil in the Spanish capital since July 2017 in Wimbledon. Their solid 6-3, 6-3 win over Serb Aleksandra Krunic was Azarenka’s first victory on the red ashes in just under two years.
The preparation of the Belarusian was anything but cheap this time. “I trained in really bad places, on green sand in the United States. It was terrible, now I appreciate the red sand much more. Even if the ball bounced badly today, it was still a really nice bounce for me,” said the visibly relieved Azarenka, who together with her son Leo and a special feeling had boarded the plane to Madrid.
“I’m so happy, you can’t imagine. About the fresh European air, all the food, everything. I’m really happy not to be in the USA for once,” confessed “Vika”, currently the world’s number 99. In the second round, Stuttgart champion Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic/No. 6) awaits the former industry leader Azarenka.
The top seeded Simona Halep, Madrid winner of 2016 and 2017, also presented herself in dazzling form at the 6:1, 6:0 against left-hander Ekaterina Makarova (Russia). It was the Romanian’s 13th success in a row in Madrid.
“I just like to play on these courts. Every time I come back here, I feel a little more relaxed than usual. Maybe that’s why I can reach my best level in Madrid,” Halep said. My next opponent is the new Rabat winner Elise Mertens from Belgium.
Halep could lose the number one position to Caroline Wozniacki again if the Danish Australian Open Queen manages the coup in Madrid and takes the title with her. At 6:3, 6:1 against Daria Gavrilova, Wozniacki was prepared for the fight for the place in the sun. Wimbledon winner Garbine Muguruza (Spain/No.3) started her home game with a 6:4, 6:2 over the Chinese Shuai Peng.