Sharapova reaches 2nd Round at French Open
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-25 09:59

Maria Sharapova savored her first-round triumph at the French Open on Tuesday even though she struggled throughout the match. It was her comeback that made the victory so rewarding. Sharapova lost the first set and found herself down a service break in the third, yet managed to rally past Evgenia Linetskaya 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4.

Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya in their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium, Tuesday May 24, 2005 in Paris. [AP]

"When you come off the court and you feel like you were losing the whole match, and all of a sudden you pulled it out, it's those moments that you feel you've trained for," Sharapova said.

In a battle from the baseline between two 18-year-old Russians, the No. 2-seeded Sharapova was one point from trailing 4-1 in the deciding set before she came back.

"When you're down a break in the third, you're just begging for mercy," the Wimbledon champion said. "But I just tried to fight it out and find a way."

Eleven double faults and 59 unforced errors left her annoyed, and she said there's a lot of room for improvement on clay.

"I think tomorrow I'll be working on the serve a lot more, you know," she said.

But she said she planned no major change in tactics and will remain aggressive from the baseline.

"To tell you the truth, I can't really change my game and all of a sudden become a typical clay-court player," she said. "It's not in the nature of my game."

Sharapova has reached the quarterfinals or better in the previous seven events she has played this year, clinching titles in Tokyo and Doha, and reaching the Australian Open semifinals. Her best showing at Roland Garros was last year, when she made it to the quarters.

Recalling her nailbiting loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open — the deciding set ended 8-6 — Sharapova said it was the hardest defeat to take so far in her young career.

It also helped her toughen up.

"It's a big disappointment to lose a match where you're one point away from being in the final of a Grand Slam," she explained. "It's a bad loss, but mentally I was really tough. The next week I came out and beat Lindsay (Davenport) in the final of Tokyo."

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