Maria Sharapova blew a big lead, drew boos for taking a bathroom break and won only when opponent Tatiana Golovin was forced to retire in tears because of an ankle injury.
The hollow victory Thursday earned Sharapova a berth in the final at the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Maria failed to convert four match points in the second set and played for another 75 minutes before Golovin twisted her left ankle and fell chasing a shot in the corner.
A trainer taped Golovin's ankle. The French teenager played one more point, hitting a return wide, then called it quits with Sharapova serving and leading 6-3, 6-7 (5), 4-3 ad in.
"It's very unfortunate," Sharapova said. "She played unbelievable tennis, the best I've seen her play. She played basically out of her mind in the second set, and it was so close in the third set."
The stadium was less than half full when the match ended, but the fans were noisy. Three times they jeered Sharapova for taking a break leading 5-4 in the second set.
The interruption didn't deter Golovin, who won the crowd's favor by completing her comeback from a 5-1 deficit in the set to force a third set.
"I should have finished it off, but that's not the way it went," Sharapova said. "But I have to forget about it and get ready for the final."
No. 4-seeded Sharapova 's opponent in the final Saturday will be No. 12 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who advanced by beating top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo for the second time in five weeks, 6-1, 6-4.
March 31st, 2006
Posted by: Marco
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