June 25, 2011
LONDON - Former champion Maria Sharapova admits she will have to raise her game as the battle for the women's title hots up at Wimbledon.
Sharapova, seeded fifth, has made serene progress so far at the All England Club and moved into the second week without dropping a set in her first three matches.
The Russian glamour girl was in dominant form out on Court Two as she crushed unseeded Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-3 in the third round on Saturday, but she knows sterner tests lie in wait before she can dream of winning her second Wimbledon crown.
Sharapova, who won the title here aged 17 in 2004, will play Chinese 20th seed Peng Shuai in the fourth round, while world number one Caroline Wozniacki and four-time champion Serena Williams are possible opponents in the latter stages.
"There's no doubt you have to improve with the second week coming. I think that's always the toughest part. That's where you hope you raise your level," Sharapova said.
"The opponents get tougher the more matches you play, especially at a Grand Slam. Raising your level is what it's all about at the Grand Slams, especially the second week."
Some pundits make Sharapova the favourite to win Wimbledon, but the former world number one doesn't buy into the hype.
"I haven't really got as much expectations as maybe you guys have based on the fact that I haven't been past the fourth round for a few years," she said.
"I'm happy at this point that I got to where I am last year and hopefully this year I can go a step further and then even more."
Before worrying about facing Wozniacki and the Williams sisters later in the tournament, Sharapova needs to secure her first quarter-final appearance here since 2006.
To do that she will have to subdue the tenacious Peng — the latest Chinese woman to make a big impact at a Grand Slam after Li Na's French Open triumph.
"I think she has a great game for the grass. She hits really flat, stays quite low. Her balls come pretty deep," Sharapova said.
"I think the last time we played was in Palm Springs earlier this year. It was a tough match.
"She's playing some of the best tennis of her career. No doubt she'll be out there playing loose and good tennis so I'll have to be ready."
Unlike Wozniacki and Serena, who both complained about being exiled to Court Two earlier this week, Sharapova enjoyed her experience on the outside court.
"It was very intimate. I like that," she said. "I feel like you're very close to the audience, which I think is great, because you don't have a bad seat in the house for the fans. I enjoyed it very much."
Sharapova made a slow start before seeing off British teenager Laura Robson in the previous round, but she was far more commanding against Zakopalova as she broke twice in the first four games to take the first set and then recovered from a break down to seal the second set.
© Copyright (c) AFP
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