Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova stays on point, despite early struggles, to advance at U.S. Open

Reporting from New York

Maria Sharapova never changed her game plan -- to be aggressive, to aim her groundstrokes deep and toward the lines -- not even when she dropped the first set to undistinguished Jarmila Groth, who is ranked 60th in the world.But the occasion of being at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest venue in professional tennis, was unfamiliar to Groth and when the chance came to maybe win the biggest match in her life, she couldn't do it.

On the first day, there was Kim. On the first night, there was Venus. Tuesday we welcome Maria.

f this year’s U.S. Open women’s tournament has no hands-down favorite, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova at least qualify as frontrunners. Clijsters did her part Monday afternoon with a straight-sets win. Williams, who hadn’t played a match since Wimbledon, defeated Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-1, though she looked a little shaky in the first set. Sharapova gets her turn Tuesday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium.It’s something of a surprise that Sharapova isn’t in a class all her own by now. When she won Wimbledon at age 17, in 2004, she seemed destined for greatness. Since then, she’s been merely good, at times very good, and twice good enough to win Grand Slam titles. But a consistent killer she isn’t, at least not in the mold of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles or Serena Williams. In the last few years, she has struggled with injuries, most notably to her shoulder, which was surgically repaired in 2008

By Tom Perrotta