TENNIS in DEPTH.

Title hope Maria Sharapova stared defeat in the face before hitting back to end the plucky challenge of home wild card Caroline Garcia at the French Open. Sharapova was down a set and a double break at one stage but hit back to defeat the impressive 17-year-old 3-6 6-4 6-0, winning the last 11 games. Garcia, playing in front of her home crowd, gave the Court Philippe Chatrier fans plenty to cheer about. The conditions were difficult and the clay surface was blown around by the strong winds, but it proved no obstacle for the young French star as she outclassed her Russian opponent in the opening exchanges. Sharapova was expected to hit the ground running in Thursday’s second-round clash, fresh off the back of her title win in Rome and her easy victory in the first round which saw her drop just three games. Garcia had not read the script though and in the first set the young wild card produced a flurry of crunching groundstrokes – off both wings – to put the seventh seed on the back foot. The two women exchanged early breaks but youngster Garcia soon took control of her serve, while Sharapova was making errors all over the court, gifting her opponent opportunities to take hold of the match. Garcia capitalised on the errors the Russian continued to make and, having failed to do so in the seventh game, eventually held serve in the ninth to seal the first set. The Russian looked demoralised and deflated going into the second set and Garcia was ruthless, punishing any mistakes by Sharapova with more powerful groundstrokes. The French player continued to look strong on the serve and she stormed to a 4-1 second-set lead and, having broken Sharapova twice, was on the verge of causing the second major upset of the day; Kim Clijsters having crashed out to the Dutch youngster Arantxa Rus earlier. The sixth game turned out to be the decisive moment in the match as Sharapova managed to up her game and break the serve of youngster Garcia, letting out a cry of relief and looking towards the sky. The break came after a controversial call from the umpire to overrule a decision from the line-judge. Sharapova took full advantage though, winning the game to kick-start a fantastic run which saw her win five straight games to level the match.

One of the best fighters on the tour, Sharapova took her renewed form into the final set and once Garcia had been broken early on in the decider it was clear her game was all but up. Sharapova, who meets Chan Yung-jan in round three, showed immense spirit to overturn a seemingly impossible deficit and emerge victorious from a match in which she failed to ever really get going. Garcia, on the other hand, can be immensely proud of her performance. She might have seen the match through to the end had it not been for her inexperience.

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The ITF today announced that Andrea Petkovic has won the latest Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Heart Award, following her contribution during Germany’s 5-0 win over USA in the World Group play-offs in April.

Petkovic, who has been the inspiration behind a Fed Cup renaissance for Germany in 2011, won both her rubbers against the Americans in Stuttgart, defeating Christina McHale and Melanie Oudin, to help the team seal promotion back to the World Group after a one year absence.

Petkovic was shortlisted by the Heart Award judging panel alongside Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP), Olga Savchuk (UKR) and Polona Hercog (SLO). The final decision was decided by a public vote on the Fed Cup website, which saw thousands of fans have their say. The world No. 12 receives a cheque for $3,000 to be donated to her chosen charity.

A total of six Heart Awards are being presented in 2011. Petkovic follows in the footsteps of Bojana Jovanovski (SRB), Bianca Botto (PER), Ayumi Morita (JPN) and Victoria Azarenka (BLR), who were honoured after the ties in February, while a further player will be recognised at this year’s Final.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Andrea for her outstanding performance in April. She has played a key role in her team’s success this season and Germany is now in an excellent position to challenge for glory in 2012. The level of passion and excitement for Fed Cup by BNP Paribas has grown considerably during the last year, and this is embodied in the commitment of players such as Andrea.”

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The reigning US and Australian Open champion lost 11 of the last 12 games as she was beaten 3-6 7-5 6-1 by Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus. Things had looked to be going to plan for the world number two when she led 6-3 5-2 and then moved to match point. However, after failing to convert, the spectacular collapse began. Errors flowed from the Clijsters racquet, including many off the oft-fearsome forehand wing. The Belgian’s lack of preparation – she had not played since March prior to her first-round match in Paris due to a host of injury problems – was stark as she handed Rus victory.

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The 26-year-old will pass Venus Williams on the next rankings, and could even pass Serena Williams if she makes it to the semis.

Mattek-Sands, who rallied from 62 42 down to win her first round match, was pushed to three sets again but got past Varvara Lepchenko, 63 26 63. ”In the middle of the second set she played two of the best games she had all match. There was a little bit of a momentum shift,” Mattek-Sands said. “It was tough, but in the third set I came out and wanted to be aggressive. I noticed she was struggling when I hit hard and deep, so it was my goal to do that more.” Mattek-Sands donned trademark unique apparel during the match, something that has gotten her a lot of attention – along with her constantly improving results. But the attention goes both ways, and she spoke about that in press.

“Deep down I’m a person who wants everybody to like me. There are going to be people that don’t, no matter what I do. I tend not to look at comments online or in the media. Being yourself, being an individual, you kind of put yourself out there. I can be a little sensitive about it. I’m pretty confident in myself so I still do it anyway, but somewhere down there I’m wishing everybody liked it.”

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The Serb, yet to lose in 2011, had way too much for Romanian Victor Hanescu, who was forced to retire hurt when 6-4 6-1 2-3 down. The victory meant Djokovic moved into joint fourth place in the list of longest winning streaks in the Open era, closing in on Guillermo Vilas’ all-time record of 46 consecutive wins. However, his hopes of moving further up that particular list look likely to be severely tested by Del Potro on Friday. The former US Open champion is now fully fit again after a wrist injury ruined his 2010 campaign and the 2009 semi-finalist looked in fine fettle as he beat Slovenian Blaz Kavcic in straight sets.

Djokovic entertained the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier with some fantastic tennis in an opening set that saw his Romanian foe stand toe-to-toe with him and look comfortable in the process. Both men played an array of shots but there was clear intent from Hanescu to take the game to the world number two. Djokovic showed no signs of sitting back though and reacted superbly, stepping up a gear and serving three consecutive games to love. Despite proving a worthy adversary for the most part, Hanescu eventually succumbed to the Serbian in the 10th game after conceding three break points. It was the first time either man had a chance to break serve and Djokovic snapped up the chance to go ahead in the tie. Djokovic showed the gulf in class between the two men as the tie went into the second set. Hanescu continued to play well but was no match for Djokovic, who improved with each passing point. The Serbian looked strong on both forehand and backhand and stormed to a 6-1 set win over his Romanian opponent, who called for the trainer immediately after. After some brief treatment on his thigh, play recommenced and Hanescu returned to hold serve in the opening game of the third set. Serve continued to dominate until, with Djokovic trailing 2-3, Hanescu decided he could no longer continue and threw in the towel.

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Canada’s Rebecca Marino opened her French Open main draw with a 6-3, 6-3 victory Sunday over Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine. The 62nd-ranked Vancouver native was making only her second appearance on any court at Roland Garros after losing a qualifying match a year ago. “I don’t think there was anything special I did today. I just felt I served really well and that always helps me. I played pretty confidently.” But Marino’s start in Paris was a solid effort, with the 20-year-old never in trouble against her No. 113-ranked opponent. The match was only Marino’s third at any Grand Slam after winning a round at last year’s U.S. Open and again in Australia in January. Marino reached the second round in just 57 minutes, striking four aces to the four double-faults of Bondarenko. The Canadian had 13 unforced errors and broke on four of her nine chances while saving the only break point she faced. She next faces Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who defeated Israeli Shahar Peer 7-6 (4), 6-1.

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Sam Stosur became the first player to reach round three of this year’s French Open on Wednesday. The 2010 runner-up eased past Simona Halep 6-0 6-2 at Roland Garros to move into the last 32. Stosur’s attacking game was again in evidence as she used her famous kick-serve to good effect, often coming to the net to nail down points. The Australian was only ever tested for a brief spell in the second set as she moved through to a meeting with claycourt specialist Gisela Dulko, who beat 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 6-2.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round of the French Open, needing almost two hours to defeat Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-2, 7-6 (6) on Wednesday. Wozniacki saved three consecutive set points in the tiebreaker but finally prevailed when her opponent sent a forehand volley into the net on her first match point. Wozniacki again played with a bandage on her left thigh and never looked comfortable on court, making 24 unforced errors. The Dane had her left leg treated during her victory in the final of a clay-court tournament in Brussels last weekend.

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Rafael Nadal was taken the distance at the French Open for the first time on Tuesday as he narrowly kept his hopes of a record-equalling sixth title alive. Big-serving American John Isner had the defending champion on the ropes in the very first round at Roland Garros but Nadal came from two sets to one down to win 6-4 6-7 (2/7) 6-7 (2/7) 6-2 6-4. It was the first time in 40 French Open matches that Nadal had been taken to a fifth set. He had won 38 of his previous 39, his only defeat coming to Robin Soderling in four sets in 2009.

Things began normally enough for Nadal, who broke Isner’s serve in the ninth game of the first set before serving out for a one-set lead. However, after Nadal had broken again at the start of the second set, the Isner fightback began. Famous for winning the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon last year, Isner broke back and then won the resultant tie-break. Nadal had won the 2010 title without dropping a set in the entire tournament, yet here he was in his first match 12 months on and already facing a real battle. Still, there was no need to panic for the champion and despite some stubborn resistance from Isner, Nadal created two set points in the third at 5-6 15-40. Isner saved both with big serves and his booming deliveries continued in the tie-break to open his shock lead. The alarm bells were now ringing for Nadal but he did not panic and hit back with an excellent fourth set that yielded not a single unforced error from the Spaniard’s racquet. With Isner’s serve not so potent now, Nadal then broke to love in the third game of the decider and managed to hold onto his advantage before launching into an exuberant celebration, reminiscent of some of his greatest days on Court Philippe Chatrier.

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