3. Maria Sharapova looked anything but a potential champion in a torrid start against French teenager Caroline Garcia but found her feet and her fight to win 3-6 6-4 6-0 and reach the French Open third round today.
“I think I relaxed and just let things happen,” the relieved Russian former world number one said after romping through the last 11 games just when a major shock looked on the cards.
“I was way too concerned about the conditions and wasn’t moving my feet and just was really slow, and she was playing aggressive and hitting great shots.
“I just felt flat-footed in the beginning. I just hit the ball finally.”
The cool, gusty conditions played havoc with Sharapova’s trademark baseline power as she littered court Philippe Chatrier with errors during a terrible first half of the match.
She rarely ducks a scrap though and from trailing 6-3 4-1 against the 17-year-old she upped her tempo and began to hit her stride, reeling in her inexperienced opponent.
Sniffing an upset, the crowd turned up the volume midway through the second set but world number 188 Garcia, who was playing only her fourth match on the main tour, admitted the atmosphere got to her with a shock victory in sight.
“4-1, the Ola (Mexican wave), that was not easy to manage. I tried, but I didn't succeed,” she told reporters.
“I had many things going in my head, because I was leading. I was playing well. She was not really in the court. Then she reacted just like a champion, because she is a great champion.
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