sports desk
\nThe controversy over wildcards may run and run, but Maria Sharapova insists she is not getting anything for free.
\n\u2018I\u2019m coming here with no ranking. I\u2019m not getting a wildcard to receive a trophy or a golden platter,\u2019 said the 30-year-old Russian after her victorious comeback from a 15-month doping ban.
\nThe champagne corks will not be popping within the women\u2019s locker room, but those inhabiting the inner sanctum will have to get used to having her back.
\nOn the exact day that her suspension expired, the five-times Grand Slam champion served notice that she will once again be a force by beating world No 36 Roberta Vinci 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and 43 minutes.
\nSharapova took advantage of her controversial entry into the Stuttgart Grand Prix with sufficient aplomb to suggest that she might even make the French Open and Wimbledon under her own steam, without the need for any further charity.
\n\u2018It was the best feeling in the world, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time,\u2019 said Sharapova, who was more the ice queen later when faced with less gushing questions.
\nAsked what she is now using as a substitute for the Mildronate that earned her the ban, and which she has insisted was so important for her general health, she replied: \u2018That information is between myself, the WTA and the orthopaedic doctor I\u2019m working with.\u2019
\nAs Eugenie Bouchard became the latest of her peers to verbally assail her, she reasoned: \u2018I can\u2019t control what people say.\u2019
\nFor Sharapova Wednesday night was a promising start to her campaign to gain enough points to play at the French Open and Wimbledon, by qualifying if necessary. \u2018I think I would be prepared to play in the juniors if I had to,\u2019 she said.
\n\u2018Everyone knows what a competitor I am and I won\u2019t take anything for granted.\u2019
\nThe nearest she strayed from guarded diplomacy was when she made no attempt to distance herself from the remarks of her agent, Max Eisenbud, about Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska, in which he described them as \u2018journeyman players\u2019.
\nShe almost seemed to endorse them. \u2018I don\u2019t control my manager\u2019s words,\u2019 she said. \u2018He has been watching everyone\u2019s comments in the last 15 months and he is entitled to his own opinion.\u2019
\nEven Wozniacki and Radwanska have not gone as far as Bouchard did on Wednesday night.
\nDescribing Sharapova as a \u2018cheater\u2019, she said: \u2018I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids \u2014 \u201cCheat and we\u2019ll welcome you back with open arms\u201d.\u2019
\nBeaten Vinci was reasonably generous: \u2018She played a high level,\u2019 she said. \u2018But then she hasn\u2019t been out with an injury, she\u2019s been practising a lot at home. She was very focused.\u2019
\nSharapova\u2019s serve was especially strong. While she pressed too hard on her forehand at times, it also delivered a welter of winners and her ear-splitting shriek filled the venue.
\nUnderstandably tight in the first set, and missing a lot at the start, she only converted two of eight break points in the opener. But she wreaked havoc with her aggressive returning and always looked the likely winner after recovering from a 0-2 deficit.
\nAt the end she stood on the baseline, bent over in delight and signalling at her support team. She had made her point, and may do so many more times. Next up is Ekaterina Makarova.
\nEarlier, Jo Konta had overcome Japan\u2019s Naomi Osaka 7-6, 3-6, 6-1. It was a decent result, having only arrived on Monday afternoon from a fairly traumatic Fed Cup match outdoors in Romania.
\nThe world No 7 now meets Latvian Anastasija Sevastova on Thursday afternoon for a place in the quarter-finals.
\nIn the Barcelona ATP Tour event, Andy Murray received an unexpected day of rest when his second-round opponent, Bernard Tomic, withdrew due to a bad back. The Scot faces Spain\u2019s Feliciano Lopez on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
sports desk The controversy over wildcards may run and run, but Maria Sharapova insists she is not getting anything for free. \u2018I\u2019m coming here with no ranking. I\u2019m not getting a wildcard to receive a trophy or a golden platter,\u2019 said the 30-year-old Russian after her victorious comeback from a 15-month doping ban. The champagne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n