On a day which saw second and third seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Zhang Shuai crash out, it was Maria Sharapova who stole the show at the Shenzhen Open with a thrilling second-round victory over two-time finalist Alison Riske.
My photographer Jimmie48 was right there, bringing us coverage from Sharapova’s morning practice and her 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory over Riske. We also have photos of Latvian world No.7 Ostapenko’s 6-1 6-4 loss to in-form world No.61 Kristyna Pliskova, who served up 11 aces en route to her first career victory over a Top 10 player. After opening the new season with a win over Serena Williams in an Abu Dhabi exhibition on December 30th and then flying to China, Ostapenko blamed her defeat on tiredness and jetlag.
Fashion update: While Sharapova and Ostapenko wore their last year’s outfits, Riske and Pliskova rocked a tank and skort from Lotto’s new Spring Nixia collection.
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE 2018 SHENZHEN OPEN:
- Monday: Halep, Sharapova impress in first round
- Sunday: Players’ party, Sharapova’s practice, Halep’s doubles, and more
“Ostapenko blamed her defeat on tiredness and jetlag.” Ugh what a brat! And the expression on her face in almost every picture…
MG, in particular her statement was: “I wasn’t feeling good today because I just arrived about a day ago. The time zone is different with different conditions and I think I’m still jetlagged. I did the best I could under the circumstances.”
I watched Maria’s two matches. She’s back in her groove! I want her to win the title. She deserves it.
After wearing vapor tour 9 for many years, Maria finally updated her shoes to Vapor Tour X just like many of the Nike clans… I wonder why she never wore the 9.5?
And whats the name of Serena new shoes? cause it looked dope n tight the one she debuted in Abu Dhabi..
Ian, excellent observation! I’m not sure why Masha always preferred the 9 model instead of 9.5. It is strange indeed.
Neither Serena nor Nike have revealed the name of the model, but I hope that we’ll have the information in time of the Australian Open. I also hope the shoes will be widely available.