{"id":314917,"date":"2017-04-29T09:53:47","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T09:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=314917"},"modified":"2017-04-29T09:53:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T09:53:47","slug":"stuttgart-open-sharapova-receiving-extra-help-says-semi-final-opponent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=314917","title":{"rendered":"Stuttgart Open: Sharapova receiving ‘extra help’ says semi-final opponent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Sharapova is receiving “extra help” to qualify for tournaments following her 15-month doping ban, says her next opponent Kristina Mladenovic.<\/p>\n

Sharapova beat Anett Kontaveit 6-4 6-3 to set up a last-four match with Mladenovic at the Stuttgart Open.<\/p>\n

This is one of three events for which the Russian has been given wildcard entries after returning from her ban for testing positive for meldonium.<\/p>\n

“I understand tournaments want her in the draw,” said Mladenovic.<\/p>\n

“She is very famous and they want more attention, which is part of the business.<\/p>\n

“On the other hand, you can ask if it is fair to get a wildcard. It’s a fact that she was caught by anti-doping, but she wasn’t the first one.<\/p>\n

“Others have also had the right to come back and play tennis, but with a different road – they wouldn’t get invitations to tournaments.<\/p>\n

“Of course, she is authorised to play tennis again, but why would she get that extra help compared to other players?”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Kristina<\/div>\n<\/div>
Kristina Mladenovic is ranked number 19 in the world<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

‘I let my tennis do the talking’<\/h3>\n

When asked whether Mladenovic’s comments would motivate her in their encounter, Sharapova replied: “Not at all”.<\/p>\n

She added: “I am not someone that uses it as part of my comeback. I have let my tennis do the talking.<\/p>\n

“My results have spoken for everything that needs to be said. The biggest part of my comeback is what happens on court.”<\/p>\n

Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova’s world ranking points expired during her suspension.<\/p>\n

But she is yet to drop a set in Germany and will earn an automatic place in qualifying at the French Open if she reaches the final in Stuttgart.<\/p>\n

She has also been given wildcard entries for the upcoming events in Madrid and Rome.<\/p>\n

The former world number one was called “a cheat” by 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Sharapova said she was “way above” replying to criticism of her comeback by her rivals.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Maria<\/div>\n<\/div>
Some bookmakers already make Maria Sharapova the favourite for next month’s French Open<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharapova eases into Stuttgart semis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sharapova continued her fine form following her return with a straight sets victory over Estonian qualifier Kontaveit to reach the last four in Stuttgart.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old broke twice in the first set, and dug deep in the second to take victory in one hour 23 minutes.<\/p>\n

“I served quite well, which gave me confidence. I’m happy,” said Sharapova.<\/p>\n

“I kept myself in good shape, because once you lose it, it’s hard to get it back.”<\/p>\n

Mladenovic booked her place in the last four with a 6-3 6-2 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 6-2 on Friday.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maria Sharapova is receiving “extra help” to qualify for tournaments following her 15-month doping ban, says her next opponent Kristina Mladenovic. Sharapova beat Anett Kontaveit 6-4 6-3 to set up a last-four match with Mladenovic at the Stuttgart Open. This is one of three events for which the Russian has been given wildcard entries after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[955,6652],"class_list":["post-314917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-sharapova","tag-stuggart-open"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=314917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=314917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=314917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=314917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}