MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Maria Sharapova reached a career milestone on Friday, which came as a nice surprise after a tough match.
“Oh, wow. I’ve won 600 matches?” Sharapova said, when an on-court interviewer congratulated her for the achievement earned by winning her third-round match Friday at the Australian Open.The No. 5-seeded player then thought a moment, and laughed nervously.
“Oh boy,” she said. “Is this friendly reminder that I’m getting old?”
Sharapova is 28, which in tennis years means she’s starting to wonder how much time is left in her career, and how much longer her body will allow her to compete in a sport filled with power-hitting youngsters.
The five-time Grand Slam winner hadn’t dropped a set into the third round but struggled a bit before beating 22-year-old Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0. After racing through the first set in just 26 minutes, Sharapova was broken twice in the second set, which lasted 77 minutes. She returned with more composure in the final set, making just five unforced errors and breaking Davis three times.