Sharapova battles into second round at Stanford

LOS ANGELES: Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova made a battling return to US hard courts on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 victory over American Jennifer Brady in Stanford, California.

“I feel like I just want to hug everyone and say thank you,” Sharapova told fans in a post-match interview. “It’s my first match in the States in a really long time, and it’s the closest thing to home for me.”