Maria Sharapova Consoles 17-Year-Old Opponent Wang Xinyu During 2019 Shenzhen Open Tennis Match, Watch Video
Sharapova told Xinyu "You played unbelievable” and consoled the teenage wildcard for the greater good.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova on Wednesday consoled her 17-year-old Chinese opponent Wang Xinyu after the latter retired from the 2019 Shenzhen Open match due to an injury. The 31-year-old Russian moved past impressive teenage opponent 6-7(4), 5-2 before the match came to an end. After the match was forced to end, Sharapova approached Xinyu and shared some thoughts with the youngster.
Sharapova told Xinyu "You played unbelievable” and consoled the teenage wildcard for the greater good. Following the win, Sharapova reached the quarter-final round of the ongoing Shenzhen Open and will now face Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. 'Maria Sharapova Pregnant' is The Most False Rumour Russian Tennis Star Has Heard About Herself
Xinyu gave a tough fight to Sharapova with her powerful hitting and stunned the five-time Grand Slam champion by registering the first set 7-6 to her name. The set was an interesting one as, after a hard fought battle, both the players went into the tie-breaker round.
Here's the full video:
A proficient display of forehand play by the Chinese player and a couple of double faults from Sharapova's side helped the former to register the tie-break round to her name. The second set also witnessed Xinyu playing at the top of her game. She clinched the initial lead by breaking Sharapova in the opening game using her stunning backhand strikes.
After holding the Russian player at a score of 3-2, Xinyu suffered physical distress on the court following which she had to take a medical timeout. Her condition did not show any signs of improvement even after the play resumed. With scoreline reading 5-2 in Sharapova's favour, Xinyu pulled out of the match as she seemed unable to continue playing. (With ANI inputs).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2019 07:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).