Sevastova swings upset by drop-shotting Sharapova into oblivion
Maria Sharapova's first Grand Slam in nearly two years came to an end Sunday, as Anastasija Sevastova bounced her from the US Open in the fourth round.
Sharapova bashed her way to the second week with her raw baselining power, and Sevastova wisely made no effort to fight fire with fire. Instead, the 16th-seeded Latvian made hay by doing what she does best, stymieing the five-time Slam champ with consistency, variety, creativity, guile, and drop shots. Lots and lots of drop shots.
Though her 15-month doping ban ended in April, Sharapova hardly played in the months leading up to the US Open thanks to a slew of injuries. She pretty definitively answered questions about her form in her stirring first-round win over Simona Halep, but her fitness remained a point of concern. Sevastova took advantage by making Sharapova move, in every way imaginable. Which is to say, she did more than just make Sharapova run; she made her stop and start, advance and retreat, change direction, turn, lunge, bend, contort. By match's end, Sharapova looked out of answers and out of gas.
Those droppers were the key that unlocked everything for Sevastova. They came in at different angles and with different spins, beautifully disguised from either wing. She put the ball where she wanted to with wizardly precision. Her seven drop-shot winners should say enough about how thoroughly she bamboozled Sharapova, but that stat tells only part of the story. Even when Sharapova managed to catch up to the ball, Sevastova almost always had the point in hand, ready to burn her with a lob or pass or a volley.
Sharapova won just 11 of 30 points at net, and it's not because she volleyed terribly; it's because she was drawn into the forecourt on Sevastova's terms, time after time after time.
So, Sevastova is into the US Open quarterfinals for a second straight year. To make it there last time, she beat a couple other proficient baseliners in Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta. She'll get one more in Sloane Stephens on Tuesday, when she tries to reach her first Slam semi.
Stephens can crush the ball, like Sharapova, but she's also a more explosive mover. We'll see what new sorcery Sevastova has in store.