2 inspiring comebacks start on winning track
NEW YORK — They come from opposite ends of the spectrum — one a former champion and current superstar, the other still searching for his big moment.
Both know what it's like to have tennis taken away.
Maria Sharapova and Taylor Dent each made winning returns to the U.S. Open on Tuesday, coming back from injuries that sent them to the sidelines and made them appreciate the game that much more.
The 29th-seeded Sharapova, who missed nearly 10 months with a shoulder injury, defeated Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-0 in front of thousands in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The unseeded Dent, coming back from debilitating back injuries that could have ended his career, upset Feliciano Lopez of Spain 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 7-5 in front of hundreds on Court 11.
"I was told by the doctors that this was not realistic," said Dent, ranked 195th in the world.
But after his first win at a Grand Slam tournament since 2005, an upset over a player ranked 158 spots higher than him, anything seems possible — for one day, at least.
"The only word to describe it is 'elation,"' said Dent, who was bedridden two years ago, in need of delicate operations to heal broken vertebra.
Sharapova's injury wasn't nearly as dire, but she needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff and now finds herself an underdog in a sport she owned not so long ago.
She is a three-time Grand Slam tournament winner, the 2006 champion at Flushing Meadows and, counting endorsements, the highest-grossing female athlete in the world.
Sharapova won her match easily, finishing with 29 winners compared to only six for Pironkova.
Hers was a much more pleasant show than the one top-seeded Dinara Safina put on earlier in the day, a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 slog over 18-year-old Olivia Rogowska that included 113 unforced errors, 24 double-faults and 15 service breaks over 2 hours, 35 minutes of uncomfortable tennis.
"I didn't break any rackets and didn't get any warnings," Safina said when asked for silver linings.
And, of course, she won, which was more than 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic could say. She fell 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7) to Kateryna Bondarenko to continue a surprising free-fall that didn't seem possible last year when she was the French Open titleholder and ranked first in the world.
"It hurts, I can tell you that," Ivanovic said. "I'm sure I'll have sleepless nights. But I have to accept it and try to put this year behind me, and try to learn from it."
Other seeded players who lost included No. 16 Virginie Razzano of France and No. 32 Agnes Szavay of Hungary. On the men's side, 29th-seeded Igor Andreev fell 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 to 276th-ranked Jesse Witten of Naples, Fla., and No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka and No. 27 Ivo Karlovic also lost.
Seeded winners included 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, past runners-up Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic, No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 13 Nadia Petrova.
Men's winners included 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and that tournament's runner-up, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, along with No. 10 Fernando Verdasco, No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 16 Marin Cilic, No. 17 Tomas Berdych and No. 22 Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Nobody, however, felt like a bigger winner than Dent, who rose as high as 21st in the rankings, back in 2005, and was viewed as one of America's next stars.
By 2006, with his back in shambles and surgery unavoidable, it seemed certain he'd never enjoy a day like this again.
"But I can't get wrapped up in it too much," Dent said. "I have a second-round match coming up. I don't want to just win one round here. I'd like to win a few."
