{"id":32772,"date":"2017-04-27T07:37:44","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T07:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=32772"},"modified":"2017-04-27T07:37:44","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T07:37:44","slug":"sharapova-marks-comeback-from-ban-with-win-over-vinc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=32772","title":{"rendered":"Sharapova marks comeback from ban with win over Vinc"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"640x640-30\"Sharapova's initial two-year suspension was reduced to 15 months after she tested positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium<\/h2>\n
Former world number one Maria Sharapova made a winning comeback to the tour on Wednesday following her 15-month doping ban, beating Italian Roberta Vinci in straight sets in the first round of the Stuttgart Grand Prix.<\/div>\n
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The 30-year-old Russian, a three-times winner on Stuttgart\u2019s clay courts, received a controversial wild card for the German tournament, having had no ranking points after more than a year out following her suspension.<\/p>\n

She had a nervous start in front of a supportive crowd but quickly found her strokes and her trademark shrieks to power past the world number 36 7-5 6-3 and set up a second-round clash against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best feeling in the world. To know I would be walking back into the arena was very special,\u201d Sharapova said in a courtside interview. \u201cI was waiting for this moment for a long time.\u201d She added: \u201cWhen I am on the court, because I have been doing it for so long, even though you are rusty and trying to get a rhythm, you try to block everything out. I am a competitor by nature. That\u2019s when I am at my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharapova has also received invitations to play in Madrid and Rome and will find out in May whether she will be given a wild card for the French Open.<\/p>\n

Some players, including Vinci, have criticised the wild card awards, saying a doping offender should have to start from scratch and build up their ranking by playing in the lower tournaments again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not an individual that\u2019s angry or bitter. I let things go,\u201d she told a post-match news conference. \u201cI am being offered wild cards from tournament directors. I am not getting a wild card to receive a trophy or a gold platter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have to go through matches and win them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Maria Sharapova of Russia in action REUTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sharapova\u2019s initial two-year suspension was reduced to 15 months after she tested positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium, a medication the Russian had been taking within the rules but which was then reclassified as a banned drug.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to play, points, games, sets. It is a journey that officially starts today and I look forward to playing as many matches as I can,\u201d said Sharapova, the second highest paid female athlete last year according to Forbes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent a long time without hitting any balls. I didn\u2019t know when I would be back. I went to school for a little bit, I grew my business and had a normal life. I put the racquet away for a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt I had to grow as a person and I felt I had to step up and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharapova was clearly nervous at the start, firing three forehands long in the first game, double-faulting on her first service game point and being broken by the Italian who took a quick 2-0 lead.<\/p>\n

It took 15 minutes for Sharapova to win her first game but she gradually improved her service, started attacking Vinci\u2019s and clinched the first set after an hour.<\/p>\n

Sharapova, growing in confidence with every point despite a dozen unforced errors in the first set, broke the Italian early in the second, and her 11th ace put her 5-3 ahead.<\/p>\n

She broke the 34-year-old again to secure the win on her first match point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sharapova’s initial two-year suspension was reduced to 15 months after she tested positive at the 2016 Australian Open for meldonium Former world number one Maria Sharapova made a winning comeback to the tour on Wednesday following her 15-month doping ban, beating Italian Roberta Vinci in straight sets in the first round of the Stuttgart Grand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n