May 28, 2011
World No. 7 Maria Sharapova eased her way into the fourth round of the French Open with a decisive 6-2, 6-3 victory over world No. 129 Chan Yung-Jan on Saturday. The win provided some stability to a wild week that saw the top two seeds, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters, suffer early upsets. With the top seeds out of competition, the former world No. 1 remains many fans’ favorite to claim the title at Roland Garros.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova surged ahead to a 4-0 lead in the first set, breaking the Taiwanese qualifier twice, including an 18-point game in which Sharapova converted her third break point. At 5-2, Sharapova served out the set without dropping a point in the final game, to earn herself a one-set lead.
The two players began the second set on serve, until at 2-2, Sharapova nabbed a break when Chan struck a forehand into the net. But Chan broke back in the next game, hitting a drop shot that Sharapova was unable to return to get back on serve at 3-3.
Rising to the occasion, Sharapova won the next eight points in a row, breaking Chan and holding serve to take a 5-3 lead. Serving to stay in the match, Chan won the first three points of the game to go up 40-0, but Sharapova fought back, ultimately closing out the match with another break.
Overall, Sharapova had 25 winners and 25 unforced errors during the match, while Chan recorded 15 winners and 22 unforced errors. Sharapova also won 66 percent of points on her first serve to Chan’s 54 percent of first-serve points.
Sharapova will meet world No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round. Radwanska defeated Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets in the third round. Sharapova’s best run to date at Roland Garros was a semifinal showing in 2007, but she recently said that her win in Rome had given her a mental boost.
It’ll be a really tough match because I think this is one of her best surfaces,” Sharapova told reporters. “She’s a really good mover and gets a lot of balls back.”
After claiming the recent Rome Masters title, Sharapova leapt into the spotlight as one of the favorites to claim the title in Paris. Winning her first French Open title would make Sharapova the 10th woman in history to earn a career Grand Slam.
Do you think Sharapova has what it takes to claim the French Open title?
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