Russian would almost certainly earn an automatic Wimbledon main draw slot if she reaches last four in Rome
Wednesday 17 May 2017 11:36, UK
Maria Sharapova has secured her place in Wimbledon qualifying after beating Christina McHale in the second round of the Italian Open.
The Russian, who is a three-time winner of this event, will next face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who overcame the challenge of Lucie Safarova in three sets.
Sharapova, playing at her third WTA Tour event since returning from a 15-month doping ban, found herself 3-1 down in the early stages but soon hit back, levelling the scores at 4-4 before winning the next two games to claim the first set.
The 30-year-old raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set and had a series of break points in the fourth game, but American McHale held to reduce the deficit.
Sharapova won the next two games and although McHale broke back to make it 5-2, Sharapova took the next game to clinch victory.
The five-time Grand Slam champion, who is benefiting from a wildcard this week, beat McHale for a fifth time without defeat - and has reached the Stuttgart semi-final and Madrid second round since her return.
Sharapova will find out on Tuesday whether she has been handed a wildcard to this month's French Open and insists she is not distracted ahead of tomorrow's decision.
"I'm focused on my match, I'm playing tomorrow," Sharapova said; "But nothing is a disappointment after being away from the game for 15 months."
Sharapova faces a battle to raise her ranking enough to qualify for the grass court Grand Slam by right and spare organisers the dilemma of whether to award her a wildcard into the main draw.
Should the 30-year-old three-time Rome champion, ranked 211 in the world, reach the semi-finals, she would almost certainly earn an automatic Wimbledon main draw slot ahead of the May 22 rankings cut-off date.
Sharapova appeared surprised to hear that today's victory had secured her a spot at Wimbledon qualifying. "Winning matches will get me places, so if that's where it got me today, then I will take it," the Russian said.
"The fact that I'm back and playing three weeks in a row now and three events in a row for me is a big deal. That's my focus."
Her second-round opponent will be Croatian veteran Lucic-Baroni who she beat in the Madrid first round last week.
The qualifying tournament is held the week before Wimbledon in Roehampton while Sharapova will find out on Tuesday whether she has been handed a wildcard to this month's French Open in a Facebook Live broadcast at 6pm BST.
Elsewhere, there were victories for experienced Barbara Strycova over Daria Kasatkina, when the Russian retired with the match level at one set apiece, and Katerina Siniakova, who defeated China's Zhang Shuai in a long three-set battle.
Stuttgart finalist Laura Siegemund made the last 16 with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-4 victory over 19-year-old Japanese star Naomi Osaka while fellow German Mona Barthel overcame Peng Shuai in three sets in the Rome heatwave.
Monica Puig, the Rio Olympic gold medallist, was the biggest casualty going down in straights to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva while Lesia Tsurenko beat Italy's Deborah Chiesa 7-5 6-2.
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