Sharapova maintains perfect 2008 start

INDIAN WELLS, California: Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova weathered an untidy opening set to maintain her perfect start to the season at the Pacific Life Open on Sunday.

The fourth-seeded Russian swept aside Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 7-5, 6-3 in a third-round encounter at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to record her 16th successive victory of the year.

"It was a very scratchy match from my side from the beginning," Sharapova told reporters after beating Daniilidou for the sixth time in six career meetings.

"I was just not seeing the ball well, not moving that great. She doesn't quite give you a lot of rhythm, which I should pick up really fast, and I didn't do that well today.

"You know, I wasn't moving well throughout the first set. I was Grandpa Joe out there," the 20-year-old added with a smile.

"But it got better toward the end of the second set. I started seeing the ball better and moving in. I was just not moving in after my shots at all."

Sharapova, who won her third Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open in January before claiming her 18th WTA title in Doha the following month, knows very little about her next opponent, Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, who ousted former world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2.

"I can't say too much, because I've never played against her and I haven't watched too much of her on TV," the world No 5 said.

"When you're going against someone you've never played before, I think the best thing to do is try to figure her out early in the match in the first few games."

In other women's results, two Chinese entrants Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie both lost. Peng went down to Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and Zheng lost to Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-2.

Federer finds his feet

World No 1 Roger Federer, in search of his first title of 2008, took no chances on Sunday as he moved smoothly into the third round of the Masters Series.

The top-seeded Swiss, who enjoyed a first-round bye, defeated Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 6-2 in his first ATP outing since a first-round ouster at Dubai last week.

Federer, who has put his quiet start in 2008 down at least in part to a bout of mononucleosis, is hoping a return to the California desert, where he won the title three years in a row from 2004-2006, will be the tonic he needs.

While Federer began to gather steam, red-hot Andy Roddick was cooled off by Germany's Tommy Haas.

Haas, 29, used a break in each set to defeat sixth-seeded Roddick 6-4, 6-4, displaying an array of crisp passing shots and asserting himself when it mattered most.

"Today was one of the matches where I won the majority of the important points," Haas said. "When I broke him, I really played some great points, backhand and forehand passing shots and forehand lobs. That was really the only difference today."

Seventh-seeded Argentinian David Nalbandian also advanced, defeating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), and 11th-seeded Scot Andy Murray rallied to beat Austrian Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Murray who has already won titles this year in Doha and Marseille, next faces Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who downed South African Rik De Voest 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Agencies

(China Daily 03/18/2008 page24)