Stuttgart: Maria Sharapova eased into the semifinals of Stuttgart's WTA tournament after seeing off qualifier Anett Kontaveit on Friday for her third-straight win on her comeback after a 15-month doping ban. The 30-year-old, five-time Grand Slam winner has yet to drop a set in Stuttgart and powered past Estonia’s Kontaveit, for a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win.
This was another impressive display from the Russian, who hit four aces, 28 winners and just two double faults, while she converted five of her six break points. “I served quite well and held my serve which gave me confidence, so I’m happy,” said Sharapova. “We haven’t played each other before, so the first six games were just about working each other out.
“I kept myself in good shape, because once you lose it, it’s hard to get it back,” she added about her fitness on court. The former world number one will now play either France’s Kristina Mladenovic or Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in Saturday’s semifinal. Sharapova only made the main draw for Stuttgart after being given a wild card as her ranking was wiped out after testing positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
Her rivals have heavily criticised the decision to give her wild cards in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome with Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard branding her a “cheater” on Thursday. There has been nothing but support for the Russian from the Stuttgart crowd with a few positive banners around the indoor arena. She has been in commanding form on clay here as she waits to learn on May 16 whether she will be granted a wild card to play French Open.
