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INDIAN WELLS, California: Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova,
bidding to preserve her so-far perfect season, breezed into the
third round of the Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters Series
tournament on Friday.
Sharapova, the fourth seed, shrugged off the
swirling winds on stadium court, dismissing French qualifier
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1, 6-0 in just 58 minutes.
Defending women’s champion Daniela Hantuchova
was also untroubled by the blustery conditions, launching her
defense with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over US wildcard Angela Haynes.
Second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova,
runner-up to Hantuchova last year, headlined the night session and
made quick work of compatriot Elena Makarova, posting a 6-1, 6-1 win
in 53 minutes.
All of the 32 men’s and women’s seeds in the
$5.7-million tournament have first-round byes.
That meant men’s top seeds, led by No. 1 Roger
Federer, second-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal and
third-seeded Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic, remained on the
sidelines on Friday as the men’s first round concluded.
The women’s marquee players swung into action
for the first time despite the difficult conditions there were no
big surprises.
Sharapova, 20, who ranked fifth in the world,
went into her tournament opener boasting a perfect 14-0 record in
2008, including her championship run in the Australian Open, a
victory in Doha in February and two Fed Cup match wins.
“Obviously, you never know what kind of tennis
you’re going to produce in these kind of conditions,” she said.
“I think against an opponent that didn’t give me much rhythm, I
think I handled it pretty well.”
Despite her impressive record in 2008, Sharapova
said she would be taking nothing for granted as the tournament
progressed.
“When I begin a tournament, it’s like I’m
starting from scratch,” she said. “At the end of the day,
numbers are all very relative.
“I just have to focus on my next match and
next round,” added Sharapova, who will next face Greece’s Eleni
Daniilidou, a 1-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 winner over Czech Klara Zakopalova.
Hantuchova, ranked eighth in the world and
seeded fifth, was delighted to be back in Indian Wells, where she
has claimed two of her three career titles.
She was a teenager in 2002 when she upset
Martina Hingis in the final to make her first WTA Tour title a
prestigious tier one crown.
She didn’t win another until her triumph here
last year, which was followed by a victory at Linz later in 2007.
“It was an incredible feeling to be back on
center court,” Hantuchova said. “I definitely feel like it’s
my home out there. It was really windy, but I’m very glad how I
handled the conditions.”
Eighth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina reached the
third round with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 victory over American Jill Craybas,
while No. 9 Shahar Peer of Israel advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 victory
over Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.
Former world’s number one Amelie Mauresmo of
France, seeded 17th, opened her campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 victory
over Romanian Edina Gallovits.
Unseeded Chinese Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie both
advanced with victories over seeded players. Peng defeated
23rd-seeded Karin Knapp of Italy 6-1, 6-3, while Zheng defeated
30th-seeded Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-4.
Top seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, her
third-seeded compatriot Jelena Jankovic, sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli
of France and No. 7 Nicole Vaidisova of Czech Republic headline
women’s action on Saturday.
Nadal, Djokovic, ninth-seeded American James
Blake and Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France,
the 17th seed, were slated for second-round play.
-- AFP
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