Sharapova Knocks Off No. 2 In U.S. Tennis Open

By ESPN

NEW YORK -- She held her hand on her heart and mouthed the words, "Thank you," to the crowd, though it seemed as if the US Open should have been thanking Maria Sharapova. It was almost 11 o'clock at night, and the crowd kept cheering.

Just a few days ago, there were some who said Sharapova shouldn't have received a wild card to play in the US Open. Now, she looks as if she might just carry the women's side of the tournament in a year without Serena Williams.

Playing in her first Grand Slam in 19 months after a drug suspension, Sharapova knocked off No. 2 seed Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 Monday on opening night.

The night had the electricity of a finals match -- a packed house under the open roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Alec Baldwin and Pharrell in the stands and long and intense rallies punctuated by Sharapova's grunts and powerful smashes. Sharapova dropped to the ground when it was over, her hands on the hardcourt, and cried.

Her last Grand Slam appearance was at the Australian Open in January 2016, when she tested positive for meldonium. Sharapova was banned for two years, but she appealed and had her punishment reduced to 15 months. Her comeback tour was far from charmed. She heard the grousing from other players who did not think she should receive wild cards. In May, Eugenie Bouchard called Sharapova a cheater and said she should be banned from tennis, just before Bouchard beat Sharapova at the Madrid Open.

Sharapova was denied wild-card entry to the French Open, and she missed Wimbledon with a thigh injury.

During postmatch interviews late Monday night, she didn't want to revisit her suspension. But this summer, she wrote an article in the Players' Tribune describing the pain she felt over all of the criticism from her peers.

"I don't think that sort of thing will ever fully be possible to ignore," she wrote. "And I don't think it will ever not be weird or hurtful to go through."

Sharapova didn't exactly go into a shell during her suspension. She took a couple of one-week classes at Harvard Business School, briefly interned with the NBA and wrote a book that will be released next month. She has a $70 million deal with Nike, and according to Forbes, her candy and chocolate company, Sugarpova, is thriving.

It raises the question: Does Sharapova, who's 30 now, even need tennis anymore?

The answer came Monday night, as she was overpowering a player who was on cusp of a No. 1 ranking. Sharapova said she lives for moments like this, and they are exactly what she has missed.

"My philosophy," Sharapova said, "is that you don't train on all of those back courts, you don't train in the early mornings, in tough conditions, just by yourself, not to want to play in the biggest matches that are in front of you.

"I love the opportunities. I love the challenge. These are the moments that inspire me."

Sharapova arrived for her practice round just before 5:30 on Monday afternoon, passing a smattering of fans who yelled her name. Her contingency was mixed: a gaggle of elderly women; a group of young men catcalling her. She practiced for 40 minutes, and at least one onlooker peered at her through a gate and asked where she'd been, clueless about the drug suspension.

She signed autographs after she left the practice courts, then headed into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to prepare for her biggest match in almost two years. Sharapova was getting her nails done last week when she heard of the draw. She said she went to YouTube and pulled up some previous videos of their matches and studied them. At first glance, it looked as if it was an ominous pairing.

It was -- for Halep. She now is 0-7 against Sharapova.

"What can I say?" Halep said. "I think that's a big victory for her."

Sharapova wore a NikeCourt Maria Sharapova x Riccardo Tisci Stadium Dress adorned with small sparkling crystals. Her entire outfit was black, from her visor right down to her shoes. And in some ways, it was appropriate. She came into the US Open viewed by some as sort of a villain, something that isn't seen much anymore in the vanilla-nice world of tennis.

She left Monday night with a standing ovation and the hope of more late-summer excitement.

"Look, I'll enjoy this for a little bit of time, and then I have to move on," she said. "But I definitely have to value the feeling that I have now."