Maria Sharapova thrashes Gisela Dulko in her comeback encounter on day two – Australian Open 2012
World number four, Maria Sharapova, made a successful comeback to the professional tennis circuit with a win over the Argentine, Gisela Dulko, in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 during the first round battle in the Australian Open. World number 68, Dulko, was completely buried under the pressure and star name of Sharapova. She couldn’t play the natural game and was completely owned by her rival throughout the match.
Hisense Arena was jam packed with people bubbling out of their seats to see the Russian tennis ace in action. It was such a long wait for Sharapova fans; non-participation in the Brisbane International raised few concerns to her fans but her performance in this match will clearly write-off any doubts about her form and injury. Splendid all round performance from the fourth seed Russian was a treat to watch for millions of the viewers all across the globe.
Slender-legged Russian started off the proceedings with a successful serve game; broke in the second one to the delight the crowd and held her serve to take a 3-0 lead. A cracking down the line winner coupled with a brilliantly placed drop shot earned the second successive breakthrough for the Russian.
She was on song from the word ‘go’. With an emphatic 4-0 lead in the first set, Sharapova successfully held her serve in the next game to further sink the 26-years-old Argentine. Dulko served the next game in the hunt to avoid a bagel but she was thumped on her serves; sparing nothing at all for the Argentine, the Russian bagged the first set in a resounding manner.
Second set was again started by the Russian who held her serve to mount more pressure on her opponent. Dulko dropped another game on her serve but astonishingly broke her rival’s serve in the next game to minimize the trail; that was totally a stunning comeback from the Argentine. World number four didn’t panic at all and broke serve in the next game to reclaim the lead. Two successful serves coupled with one break in the sixth game rounded off a resonant comeback triumph for the Russian.
'Maria Mania' has just begun!
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