Maria Sharapova used to be scared of New York, its hustle and bustle and energy. But those days are clearly long gone. Years later, she’s still perfect at night at the U.S. Open.
Win by win, Sharapova has turned Arthur Ashe Stadium into a second home, the latest victory a shockingly-easy 6-3, 6-2 rout of Jelena Ostapenko. It sent her into a round of 16 that’s now sprung wide-open, and lifted her to a flawless 23-0 under the lights at Flushing Meadows.
“I don’t remember how old I was when I played my first night match, but I’m sure I was young enough to still be intimidated by the city and the lights and the atmosphere, the noise,” Sharapova said. “But I really turned that around. I thrive on that. I love the atmosphere. I love that they know how to cheer hard. … I thrive on playing under the lights for some reason. I love that. I love that challenge.”
No. 22 Sharapova got a challenge from Ostapenko, it just didn’t last long. Her 21-year-old Latvian foe managed to save five break points in a 12-minute opening service game, but after that Sharapova reeled off the next five games to seize command.
Eventually Sharapova broke three times in taking the first set, and stormed through the second. Truthfully, the 10th-seeded Ostapenko was her own worst enemy, with an unsightly 41 unforced errors and just 10 winners to show for them.
Against an aggressive, dangerous foe, it was a quantum leap up from her sloppy second-round 6-2, 7-5 win over Sorana Cirstea.
“I knew I needed to have a better performance than my previous round. I did just enough to win that previous match,” Sharapova said.
“Despite going into a really long first game, I thought if this is the length of time she’ll have to work for one game and win it, I just went to my service game with that perspective. I felt pretty confident throughout. I hit quite well, served much better. Putting all those things together gave me a good enough scoreline.”
Good enough to cruise into a round of 16 date with No. 30 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, who upset No. 6 Caroline Garcia 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Court 17. Seven of the top 10 seeds are gone, with defending champ Sloane Stephens the only top five seed left.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. … I’m fortunate to be in the draw and playing. Whoever I have to play, I want to beat,” Sharapova said with a shrug. “There have definitely been surprises in the draw, but I don’t know if it’s any different than last year or the year before. I don’t know.
“I don’t really compare. I actually haven’t watched any tennis on TV. I haven’t turned my TV on in the room. I know the scores, I know what’s going on, but I’m not deeply enthusiastic about finding out why those results happened.”
She’s just enthusiastic about extending her stay in New York. Sharapova has grown to love the city, hitting several museums this year and taking in “The Master and Margarita” last year. After seeing the off-Broadway show about the devil coming to Moscow, she’s put herself in position to raise hell through a weakened round of 16 next week.
