Maria didn’t have an easy opener in Madrid. Eventually she managed to win in straight sets and increase her winning streak on clay to 17 consecutive matches, but she had to battle for 1 hour and 36 minutes to defeat the world no. 334.
About Serena-Sloane controversy
After the match Maria had some comments about the big controversy on Sloane Stephens comments about Serena Williams.
“So I’m not the one to strike up a conversation about the weather and know that in the next few minutes I have to go and try to win a tennis match. I’m a pretty competitive girl. I say my hellos, but I’m not sending any players flowers as well.
“So it was nice to see that she spoke honestly about it. I think people have different perceptions of different athletes. It’s nice that someone spoke up about how they feel.”
Next vs MChale
Maria will play Christina McHale in the second round (7-5 5-7 6-1 on Peng). Head to head is 2-0 for Maria
