Maria Sharapova of Russia hits a return during the women's singles first round match against Simona Halep of Romania at the 2017 US Open tennis tournament in New York, the United States, Aug. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
NEW YORK, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- 2006 champion Maria Sharapova knocked out the No.2 seed Simona Halep of Romania in a three-set thriller to advance into the second round of the US Open on Monday.
It was Sharapova's first Grand Slam match since a quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams in last year's Australian Open, when she tested positive for the newly banned heart drug meldonium.
After a 15-month doping ban, Sharapova returned in April but the French Open snubbed the former world number one for a wildcard entry and she missed Wimbledon with a thigh injury.
"It's all worth it. You sometimes wonder why you put in all the work. And this is exactly why," a tearful Sharapova said in her on-court interview. "I just thought this was another day, another opportunity, another match but this was so much more."
Only a handful of points separated the pair as Sharapova, into the year's final Grand Slam on a wildcard, overcame a second-set letdown to outclass Halep 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after the two hours and 44 minutes match.
In the first set both players were struggling in respective serve, Sharapova had three breaks, one more than Halep, to take the opening set. After leading by a set and 4-1 in the second, Sharapova showed some fatigue and rust, dropping five games in a row. But in the third, Sharapova regained control by going ahead 3-0, using her power to keep two-time French Open runner-up Halep under pressure. After that, she never looked back.
"It was very was very tough, not like first-round matches. But this is the draw. I think I give everything I had. She was better," said 25-year-old Halep.
In the next round the Russian takes on the big-serving Timea Babos of Hungary, who defeated Swiss Viktorija Golubic in similarly close three sets earlier in the day 7-5, 5-7, 7-5.
