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Maria Sharapova notches another win in her return to tennis

By Harry Floyd

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 04: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot against Simona Halep of Romania during the Women's singles 3rd round on day five of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 4, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 04: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot against Simona Halep of Romania during the Women's singles 3rd round on day five of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 4, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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Maria Sharapova is in action this week at the Tianjin Open. The former world No. 1 opens the tournament with a straight set win.

Maria Sharapova defeats Irina-Camelia Begu in her Tianjin opening match.

The former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion was originally slated to face top seeded Caroline Garcia. The French tennis star, however, withdrew due to injury after winning back-to-back WTA titles the two weeks prior.

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Garcia has cracked into the WTA top ten at the world No. 9 ranking and is battling Johanna Konta for the final spot at the end of year finals. Sharapova instead squared off with the Tianjin Open ninth seed Begu for her opening round match.

Maria Sharapova defeats Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-2.

Both players were eager to get the match going after delays due to rain. While Sharapova played her normal role as the aggressor, the win was not without struggle. With the first set knotted at 4-4, the Russian managed to pull away and also jump out to an early lead in the second set.

Up next for Maria Sharapova is Magda Linette of Poland.

The former world No. 1 is the favorite to win the meeting, but win or lose, she should be happy with her play so far in Tianjin. The return to tennis has not been easy for Sharapova, who has been met with criticism from time to time. Nevertheless, the Russian continues on in hopes of being her old self by the time the 2018 WTA Tour rolls around.

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With number one seed Garcia out for the Tianjin Open, second seed Petra Kvitová became the new top seed and favorite. She falls, however, in her opening round match with Zhu Lin of China. The Chinese tennis player takes their meeting in three sets, winning 6-4 5-7 6-4.

Kvitová, who returned this year after suffering an awful wrist injury from an attacker, has seen some success on tour this year. Despite the loss at the Tianjin Open, her return to tennis has been immensely positive for both her and the sport. She is a former world No. 2 and two-time Wimbledon champion. Stay tuned to see how Maria Sharapova and others fare throughout the rest of the 2017 Tianjin Open.

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