ROME — A year after one of the lowest moments of her career, Maria Sharapova has rediscovered how to enjoy tennis again: winning.
In the quarterfinals of the Italian Open on Friday, Sharapova toughed out a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-5 win over the reigning French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, closing out the victory on her third match point after 3 hours 11 minutes.
The win over the sixth-ranked Ostapenko was Sharapova’s best result of the year. She also made the semifinals of a tournament for only the second time this season. She will play top-ranked Simona Halep on Saturday.