Maria Sharapova's dazzling return to the U.S. Open after a 15-month drug suspension sparked a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 upset over No. 2-ranked Simona Halep in the first round on Monday night.
One of the biggest names in women's tennis needed a wild card entry to even compete in this year's open because of the drug suspension, which ended in April, ESPN reported. In front of the sold out crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, Sharapova grinded out the three-set victory to advance to the second round, the New York Post reported.
"(It meant) so much. So special," Sharapova said after the match, per the Post. "This is obviously a different scale, completely different caliber to anywhere you play in the world. It's electric. As much as I want to be in the zone, focus in on what I have to do, execution and all those things, I definitely felt the energy. I felt the crowd."
Sharapova, the former No. 1 women's player in the world, entered the match ranked No. 147 and in her first major's competition since 2016, but showed flashes of her old form in beating Halep, the Post said.
"You sometimes wonder why you put in the work," Sharapova said, looking around Ashe Stadium at the fans who stayed to cheer her on, Tennis.com reported. "This is the reason why. It's prime time, baby."
The Evening Standard said that Halep joined other critics who complained about Sharapova receiving a wild card entry for her comeback tournament in Stuttgart, Germany in April, but complimented her after the match.
"I'm sad, of course, losing this match," Halep said, per the Evening Standard. "But I think I gave everything I had. She was better. She was serving better. My serve was very bad today.”
"It was not like a first-round match. But this is the draw. I cannot say anything else. It's the luck. It was a good match. It was good for the fans."
In 2016, Sharapova was initially banned from professional tennis for two years after testing positive for meldonium, ESPN said. Last October, Court of Arbitration for Sport cut the suspension to 15 month, after it determined that the use was not intentional and acted with "no significant fault."