BERLIN (Reuters) - Former world number one Maria Sharapova eased past fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-5 6-1 on Thursday to reach the Stuttgart Grand Prix quarter-finals and continue her winning comeback from a 15-month doping ban. She has yet to drop a set in Stuttgart where she has won the title three times. I executed a great plan today and I was really glad I pulled that off," Sharapova told reporters. Makarova cleverly mixed up the height and depth of her shots during rallies on the very quick Stuttgart clay with Sharapova still lacking match practice. Makarova wasted her only break opportunity at 5-5 and Sharapova never looked back.

Source: The Star April 27, 2017 15:46 UTC