Tianjin Open Archives - Women's Tennis Blog

Tianjin Open photos: Sharapova beats Sabalenka in the final

My photographer Jimmie48 is already on his way to Singapore, so the photos from the Tianjin Open final are coming in a bit late. Maria Sharapova today climbed 29 spots in the WTA rankings, from No.86 to No.57, by virtue of defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the Tianjin title match, 7-5 7-6(8). Enjoy our photo coverage from the last day of the Chinese tournament!

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October 17, 2017

Sharapova wins Tianjin Open, first title since drug ban

Maria Sharapova enjoyed lifting her first WTA trophy since coming back from the Meldonium doping ban in April, overcoming Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 7-6(8) in the hotly-contested Tianjin Open final. The five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova recovered from deep deficits in both sets against Sabalenka and won the $426,750 International-level event without dropping a set, her 36th career title.

After opening the title match by breaking Sabalenka’s serve, Sharapova’s downfall started, as the Russian quickly fell to 1-4. After a long seventh game, Sharapova converted her fourth break point to get the set back on serve, regain control and frustrate the first-time WTA finalist Sabalenka, eventually winning the set by virtue of yet another break in the eleventh game. In the second set, Sharapova’s comeback was even more dramatic, as the Russian rebounded from a 1-5 deficit and won her first title since the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome in 2015.

Besides the world No.102 Sabalenka, who is now set to make her Top 100 debut, the list of Sharapova’s victims in Tianjin includes Irina-Camelia Begu, Magda Linette, Stefanie Voegele and third-seeded defending champion Peng Shuai. The next stop for Sharapova is Moscow, where she’ll play the Kremlin Cup as a wildcard, appearing at the tournament for the first time since 2007.

Sharapova’s winning apparel: the Nike Zoom Vapor 9 ID shoes, Winter Maria Premier Skirt and Winter Maria Premier Tank. To fight the Chinese cold, Masha wore the black and white Nike Winter Maria Jacket.

October 15, 2017

Tianjin Open photos: Sharapova vs. Peng, Sabalenka vs. Errani semifinals

On Saturday at the Tianjin Open, Maria Sharapova reached her first final since 2015 with a 6-3 6-1 victory over third seed and defending champion Peng Shuai, while Aryna Sabalenka will make her debut in the WTA finals thanks to a 6-1 6-3 win over the 2012 Roland Garros runner-up Sara Errani, who was playing her first tournament since the two-month doping ban. Our photographer Jimmie48 was there all day long, from Sharapova’s pre-match practice session until the semifinals were finished.

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October 14, 2017

Tianjin Open photos: Sharapova moves into semifinals

After Friday’s quarterfinal matches at the 2017 Tianjin Open, we have the WTA semifinal pairs: wildcard Maria Sharapova of Russia vs. third seed Peng Shuai of China and Italian qualifier Sara Errani vs. Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. Our photographer Jimmie48 is bringing us photos from two quarterfinal matches, the one in which Sharapova defeated Stefanie Voegele 6-3 6-1 and the one in which Sabalenka got past Zhu Lin 6-3 6-4.

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October 14, 2017

Tianjin Open photos: Sharapova moves on, quarterfinal field set

Thursday’s second-round action completed at the Tianjin Open and quarterfinals are now set. Wildcard Maria Sharapova defeated Magda Linette 7-5 6-3 and will next face Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele, who defeated fifth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-2 6-3. The other three quarterfinal pairs include: third seed Peng Shuai (the only seed in the last eight) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo, Christina McHale vs. Sara Errani and Aryna Sabalenka vs. Zhu Lin.

Our photographer Jimmie48 captured a number of the second-round matches, as well as Sharapova’s morning practice session and interaction with fans following her victorious match.

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October 12, 2017

Tianjin Open photos: Zhu upsets Kvitova, Sharapova moves into second round

After the start of main-draw action was washed out for two straight days at the Tianjin Open, the tournament headliners Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova finally took the court on Wednesday. The second-seeded Kvitova suffered a shock first-round defeat to Chinese world No.113 Zhu Lin 6-4 5-7 6-4, committing eight double faults in the process, while wildcard Sharapova, now ranked 86th in the world, converted all four of her break points to get past her first-round obstacle, ninth seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4 6-2 in 82 minutes.

Tianjin also welcomed Sara Errani, who is returning from a two-month suspension for a failed drugs test that was positive because her mother’s cancer medication had accidentally ended up in the tennis player’s tortellini. The Italian went through qualifying and today recorded a straight-set win over Kateryna Kozlova, 6-2 6-1. Our photographer Jimmie48 has all that and more covered!

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Monday: WTA press conferences + players’ party

October 11, 2017

Tianjin Open photos: Monday’s WTA press conferences + players’ party

The first day of the Tianjin Open was soaked by rain, which WTA SEO Steve Simon jokingly referred to as “liquid sunshine”, but despite the shortage of matches, everyone was busy with press conferences and players’ party.

After an action-packed week in Beijing, our photographer Jimmie48 has already arrived in Tianjin, bringing us coverage from the $426,750 International-level tournament, i.e. press conferences of Beijing-Wuhan champion Caroline Garcia, who has unfortunately withdrawn from Tianjin, Petra Kvitova, as well as the players’ party attended by Kvitova, Donna Vekic, Kateryna Bondarenko and her family (look how little Karin knows how to strike a pose!), Nina Stojanovic, Yulia Putintseva, Lesia Tsurenko, Peng Shuai, Lauren Davis, who was surprised with a birthday cake, Irina-Camelia Begu, and others. During the party, players were signing the Chinese Zodiac Sign Wall.

Maria Sharapova, whose Sugarpova brand is one of tournament sponsors, wasn’t at the players’ party, but she did attend the morning’s opening ceremony.

Stay with us for more Tianjin Open photos in the coming days!

October 9, 2017

Category: Tianjin Open