Maria Sharapova beats Ekaterina Makarova in three sets at the China Open
Maria Sharapova beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in three sets to reach the China Open third round.
The five-time Grand Slam champion, ranked 104th in the world, beat world number 33 Makarova 6-4 4-6 6-1.
Wildcard entry Sharapova will next play Romanian world two Simona Halep, who was leading 6-2 2-1 when Slovak opponent Magdalena Rybarikova retired with illness.
Halep lost to Sharapova in the US Open first round in August.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat America’s Varvara Lepchenko 6-4 6-4 in Beijing.
The Czech 12th seed will play Denmark’s world number six Caroline Wozniacki in the next round.
