Maria Sharapova saved her most piercing shriek to punctuate her final shot of the first set, a thunderous cross-court backhand winner to close out a tiebreaker.
She squealed in satisfaction, then dominated the rest of the way yesterday to beat Karin Knapp 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the third round of the French Open.
The top-ranked Sharapova needed 81 minutes to win the opening set. She squandered a lead and fell behind in the tiebreaker, then benefited from some shaky shots by Knapp.
In the second set, Sharapova played her best tennis of the week.
“It was good to finish it off in two sets,” she said. “I had to change the situation and I did it.”
Sharapova again struggled with her serve and had nine double-faults, giving her 36 in three matches. But she won 11 of 13 points at the net and her ground strokes became more steady in the second set.
After winning the Australian Open in January, Sharapova needs only a French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. Clay is her least favorite surface, but she became top-seeded at Roland Garros after four-time champion Justine Henin retired two weeks ago.
With no US women left in the tournament, perhaps the Americans can claim 18-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who has lived the past two years in Scottsdale, Arizona. The No. 16 seed beat No. 18 Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-1 and has lost only six games in three matches this week.
Azarenka took advantage of Schiavone’s weak second serve, winning 23 of those 28 points. Since the start of the year, Azarenka has climbed in the rankings from 30th to a career-high 17th.
“This year I improved a lot my forehand, which was my weak shot,” she said. “Now it’s like my weapon, which helps me a lot.”
Azarenka will play No. 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova next, who faced only one break point and beat Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-1.
Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion, beat Azarenka in their two previous meetings.
“She’s a big player, but she’s also human,” Azarenka said. “I played her two times already. It probably won’t be that scary anymore.”
In her match with Petrova, Kuznetsova hit five aces and lost only five points on her first serve. She said she changed her service motion two months ago.
“I need my serve more than ever, so I’m really focused on it and I feel like I’m doing much better,” Kuznetsova said. “I feel so much power in it, more consistent. I feel really good when I can get everything together.”
Sharapova will play fellow Russian Dinara Safina next, seeded 13th, who defeated Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-5.
In the completion of a match suspended because of darkness, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic beat No. 28 Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-3. Jankovic led 4-2 in the second set when play was halted on Friday.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Akiko Morigami accused a national team coach of asking her to throw a doubles match at the French Open, Japanese media reported yesterday.
A Japanese coach allegedly told Morigami a defeat would boost partner Aiko Nakamura’s chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics by freeing her up for a tournament next week, the Jiji Press report said.
“That a coach would say that to me before a match was a shock,” Morigami was quoted as saying after a 6-0 6-1 first-round defeat by Taiwan’s fourth seeds Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung on Friday.
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS