Top seed Maria Sharapova overcame a sluggish start before booking her spot in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico
Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Shelby Rogers
Mexico: Top seed Maria Sharapova overcame a sluggish start before booking her spot in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico.
Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Shelby Rogers. Pic/AFP
The Russian, making her debut appearance in this competition and her first on the WTA Tour since losing in the Australian Open final to Serena Williams, fell 2-0 behind and faced two break points on her next service game against Shelby Rogers.
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But that was as good as it got for the American as Sharapova battled to hold and immediately claimed the break back before eventually triumphing 6-4 6-1 after an hour and 14 minutes.
"I've been in many different situations in my career, and when you're down, you have to change a few things and stay positive," Sharapova said on the WTA Tour website.
Shorter targets
"You just have to concentrate on one point at a time instead of the bigger result, and as the match went on I definitely felt more and more comfortable out there."
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