NEW YORK – Wednesday is usually Mailbag day but with so many matches today, let’s do a top five….
• Barely 36 hours after a dazzling win—her most significant in years—Maria Sharapova returned to the scene of the sublime. Under much different conditions than Monday’s evening session against No. 2 Simona Halep, Sharapova faced a scrappy, erratic hitter in Timea Babos on Wednesday afternoon. After a slow start, Sharapova found her groove, brought her superior competitive instincts to bear, again showed off improved movement, and closed out another three-set win 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1. For all the talk about her doping ban and its effect on her image and psyche, we overlook that Sharapova has been eligible since April but hamstrung by injury.