Maria shows signs of recovery

Maria Sharapova is back in the US Open quarterfinals for the first time since winning the title in 2006. Shrieking loudly during points, screaming and pumping her fist after winning them, Sharapova grabbed control after a 75-minute rain delay to beat 19th-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday night.

Sharapova improved to 11-0 this season in three-set matches. She trailed 2-0 in the final set against Petrova, but took five of the next six games following the resumption in play.

The third-seeded Sharapova will face 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli of France for a semifinal berth. The 11th-seeded Bartoli beat No. 5 Petra Kvitova, who won Wimbledon last year, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

In another quarterfinal, top-seeded Victoria Azarenka will play No. 7 Sam Stosur, the defending champion. Azarenka defeated 73rd-ranked Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-2, while Stosur ended the run of 18-year-old Laura Robson 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, more than four years after her French Open title, Ana Ivanovic is finally back in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 12th seed defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 6-0, 6-4.

Since winning the second of her four career Grand Slam trophies, Sharapova hadn't enjoyed much success at Flushing Meadows. She lost in the third round in 2007 as the defending champion, again in 2009 and last year, too. She exited in the fourth round in 2010, and missed the 2008 tournament shortly before having right shoulder surgery.

This has been an eventful year for Sharapova, on and off the court. She ended her engagement to former NBA player Sasha Vujacic. She won the French Open for the first time to complete a career Grand Slam and briefly return to No.1 in the WTA rankings.

She made it to the gold-medal match at the London Olympics, only to get walloped by Serena Williams 6-0, 6-1. And then, right before heading to New York, she pulled out of hard-court tuneup tournaments at Cincinnati and Montreal with a stomach virus.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Gambhir, Yuvraj miss Champions Trophy bus

CSK vs MI: Bravo and Pollard - similar blokes, different strokes

RR vs PWI: Deja vu as Royals' form dips at crunch time

'This (IPL) is champagne, other T20 leagues are soft drinks'