Key Biscayne, Florida: Maria Sharapova needed nine match points before she finally closed out a win on Saturday in the third round of the Sony Open, beating lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-2.
No. 1-ranked Serena Williams won a marathon, too, taking 2½ hours to eliminate Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Men’s No. 1 Rafael Nadal began a bid for his first Key Biscayne title by beating lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-3.Sharapova had two match points in the tiebreaker, and seven more in the final game. The No. 26-seeded Safarova stayed alive with a succession of vital winners. “She kept hitting unbelievable shots,” Sharapova said. “One more. One more. I said, ‘How many chances are you going to getIJ’”
With the capacity crowd in a frenzy, a long exchange on the final point ended with Safarova pushing a weary forehand into the net. The match took three hours and ended at 10 p.m. to conclude an 11-hour day session on the stadium court, with two night-session matches yet to come.Williams’ match was a thriller, too. A succession of long rallies left her grunting, stumbling, lunging, squealing, flailing her arms and scolding herself.Despite all the drama and trauma, she moved one round closer to a record seventh Key Biscayne title.
Williams is playing in her first tournament after a monthlong layoff, and rustiness might explain her 41 unforced errors, including seven double-faults. And the 20-year-old Garcia kept Williams on her heels with deep groundstrokes and serves that topped out at 117 mph.
Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was off Saturday but advanced to the fourth round anyway when his next scheduled opponent, Florian Mayer, withdrew because of a groin injury. Djokovic’s next match will be Tuesday.Stanislas Wawrinka bounced back from his first loss of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. No. 7 Tomas Berdych joined Wawrinka in the third round by beating Stephane Robert 7-6 (5), 6-1.No. 10-seeded John Isner rallied to win an all-American matchup against Donald Young, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.