Sun, Jun 02, 2013 page20

• Sharapova defeats battling Zheng Jie

  ‘LUCKY’: Sharapova dropped serve four times and served eight double faults, while Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the last 16 in 75 years

  • AFP and Reuters, PARIS
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  Defending champion Maria Sharapova reached the French Open fourth round on Saturday with a 6-1, 7-5 win over China’s Zheng Jie, despite an up and down center court performance.

  The second seeded Russian will take on the US’ Sloane Stephens, who she beat comfortably on clay in Rome two weeks ago, for a place in the quarter-finals.

  However, the 26-year-old Russian has work to do ahead of that encounter after dropping serve four times against Zheng and serving up eight double faults.

  

  Russia’s Maria Sharapova serves to China’s Zheng Jie during their French Tennis Open third-round match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris yesterday.

  Photo: AFP

  The pain of her 34 unforced errors was at least partially soothed by her 25 winners.

  “I was lucky to get through that second set. I was a break down, so I am happy to pull it through in straight sets,” she said. “It’s not over until the last point is played and I felt like I was playing with a lot of energy out there.”

  Sharapova, playing in her 11th French Open, had reached the third round for the loss of just nine games and seemed on course for another routine win on Saturday.

  Four breaks of serve helped her to the first set as her 43rd-ranked opponent failed to hold serve once, while winning only nine points off the Russian’s serve.

  However, two breaks took the 29-year-old from Chengdu out to a 4-1 lead in the second, before Sharapova turned up the heat again.

  The champion pulled level at 4-4, pumping up the volume levels at the same time, only to hand Zheng the initiative again as the Chinese player broke for 5-4.

  Zheng, who became the first Chinese woman to make the last 16 of a major when she played in the fourth round in Paris in 2004, was unable to serve out the set as Sharapova broke for 5-5.

  The world No. 2 held for 6-5 and took the tie after 1 hour, 45 minutes, when Zheng netted a return.

  Alize Cornet called Victoria Azarenka a “juggernaut” after the No. 3 seed recovered from a shaky start to mow her down in three sets.

  The double Australian Open champion looked as if she was veering off the road as her title credentials were given a rigorous examination by the Frenchwoman, but she put her foot on the gas to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and book her place in the last 16.

  For large periods of the encounter, Cornet out-fought the Belarussian and looked much sharper around the court.

  However, Azarenka’s consistency and greater firepower ultimately wore down Cornet.

  “She’s a machine, a juggernaut,” Cornet said. “She plays the same from the first to the last point. It’s my feeling that I was knocked around everywhere by her topspin. What’s frightening is I dropped one or two games, but that’s enough for your head to go under the water.”

  Cornet, seeded 31, took the first set and both players struggled to find consistency on their serve, frequently exchanging breaks, as the sun made a rare appearance at Roland Garros.

  The pair then went toe-to-toe before Azarenka, who has never been past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, found her rhythm and broke Cornet’s resolve, taking the second set and running away with the third.

  Azarenka’s serve, in particular, let her down as she double-faulted 10 times and was broken on six occasions in the match.

  “I really felt that I left my serve at home today, but if I can win serving like this, that’s pretty remarkable,” Azarenka said.

  Azarenka will now face former champion Francesca Schiavone, who put in an eye-catching performance to beat France’s Marion Bartoli 6-2, 6-1.

  With all eyes on defending champion Sharapova and world No. 1 Serena Williams, Italian Schiavone, the 2010 Roland Garros winner, had gone unnoticed until she ended Bartoli’s run in ruthless fashion on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

  Bartoli fought until the end but there was little she could do against Schiavone’s repertoire of sliced backhands, spinning forehands and cunning lobs that got the better of the Frenchwoman after 78 minutes.

  Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the last 16 of the French Open in 75 years yesterday when he defeated Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-1 in a third round match.

  Emulating the feat of Fumiteru Nakano in 1938, 13th seeded Nishikori will next attempt to match his march into the 2012 Australian Open quarter-finals, but he will likely have to get past seven-time champion Rafael Nadal to do so.

  The Florida-based Asian star broke Paire twice in the first set, while dropping his own serve once, but he then quickly found himself a break down in the second against the Frenchman who has enjoyed a strong clay court season.

  With both men struggling to hold serve, Nishikori battled back to 2-2 and there was a further exchange of breaks to get to 4-4.

  Paire was left furious when he was hit with a penalty point for coaching at set point up on the Nishikori serve at 5-4, but he drew level in the match by easily taking the ensuing tie-break.

  However, it was Nishikori who looked the stronger as they got deep into the third set, with Paire struggling to stay the pace.

  The Japanese player took that 6-4 and he raced away with the fourth against a visibly tiring Paire to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the third time at the age of 23.

  Nadal will be next up for Nishikori should the defending champion defeat Italy’s Fabio Fognini in a third round tie scheduled for later in the day and he has failed to beat the Spaniard in their four contests to date.

  In women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and China’s Peng -Shuai were defeated by Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Poland’s Alicja Rosolska 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.

  Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching’s doubles match with partner Darija Jurak was postponed.
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