Maria Sharapova making moves at the start of 2018 WTA Tour
By Harry Floyd
Maria Sharapova is into the second round of play at the 2018 Australian Open. The former world No. 1 is off to a strong start so far this year.
Maria Sharapova is unseeded at this year’s Australian Open.
The former world No. 1 continues to work her way back into the fold of women’s singles tennis. After returning to the courts last year, the Russian superstar is seeing a fantastic January on the WTA Tour. Prior to play at Melbourne Park, Sharapova reached the semifinals at the Shenzhen Open.
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The Russian defeats Germany’s Tatjana Maria in her Australian opener. Winning in straight sets, Sharapova takes the match 6-1, 6-4 at Margaret Court Arena. After the match she acknowledged that the path to a title would not get any easier at Melbourne Park.
Several top seeds and former champions remain alive at the 2018 Australian Open.
While Sharapova is the 2008 champion in women’s singles at Melbourne Park, she is without a doubt an underdog this year.
Her fifteen month suspension is still not fully in the rearview. Sharapova is showing positive signs so far in 2018 and should continue to perform at a high level, but several other top players are poised to have an impact this month. The main player to watch is top seeded Simona Halep. The Romanian tennis star is the current world No. 1 in women’s singles tennis and is in action later today at Melbourne Park. She faces 17-year-old Australian Destanee Aiava in her opener. The young Australian tennis player will need to put on her life’s best performance yet against the world No. 1. Aiava will at least have the backing of her hometown crowd.
Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis
As for Maria Sharapova, she awaits her second round opponent. The 30-year-old Russian superstar has the experience needed to draw upon for a Grand Slam run. If she can maintain her early 2018 WTA Tour momentum, Sharapova could be an interesting pick to make a deep run this month. Stay tuned to see how she fares in her next match at Melbourne Park and check back for updates on the former world No. 1’s progress at the 2018 Australian Open.