ROME — Maria Sharapova guaranteed herself a spot in the Wimbledon qualifying tournament with a first-round victory against Christina McHale at the Italian Open on Monday.
Sharapova, given a wild card to compete in Rome after returning from a 15-month doping ban, dropped serve three times in a scrappy opening set, but won, 6-4 6-2.
Sharapova faces a battle to raise her ranking enough to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw and spare organizers a decision on whether to award her a wild card into the tournament, which she won in 2004.
Should Sharapova, a three-time Rome champion ranked 211th, reach the semifinals here, she would almost certainly earn an automatic Wimbledon main draw slot ahead of the May 22 rankings cutoff date.