Jankovic, Sharapova survive initial scare
Cincinnatti (USA) Aug. 11: Maria Sharapova survived a second-set lapse and delivered a dominant third set to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Cincinnati Women’s Open.
While Kuznetsova’s triumph in San Diego on Sunday pushed her ranking to 14, one higher than Sharapova, her fellow Russian had a 31-11 edge in winners to overcome 39 unforced errors to win in her Cincinnati debut.
Sharapova reached the second round, while top seed and defending champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia followed her on court and booked a third-round berth with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Russian Vera Dushevina.
Kuznetsova received treatment from a trainer on her back and left knee, and left the court briefly after three games of the third set for treatment. “It’s definitely tough to have a night flight then come and play the day after a final, but it’s just bad luck, I cannot change it,” Kuznetsova said.
Sharapova said she didn’t press hard enough once she had pocketed the opening set. “I let her off the hook in the beginning of the second set, and she went with it. Against a player with a lot of experience, you can’t do that,” Sharapova said. “I had to earn it. The only way I was going to win was by being aggressive.”
In another second-round action, Akgul Amanmuradova advanced 6-2, 6-0 win over Bojana Jovanovski. Sixteenth-seeded Marion Bartoli also reached the third round, beating Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 in a thrilling encounter.
Fifteenth-seeded Nadia Petrova tumbled out of the two million-dollar event, retiring with heat-related symptoms while trailing Christina McHale.
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