August 31, 2011
The third-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova wasted no time and shifted into a higher gear on Wednesday as she overwhelmed unseeded Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus with the loss of just two games to surge into the third round of the US Open. Maria won 6-1 6-1 on Wednesday night in 70 minutes - a far cry from the more than 2 1/2 hours she needed in a three-set win over Heather Watson in her opener two days before..
"I think I improved my intensity a lot," Sharapova, 24, a three-time grand slam winner said. "I was moving a lot better, just hitting a lot freer.
As the closing match of the Day Three program, Sharapova did not take the court until after the first night contest, won by American Andy Roddick in three hours.
"I mean at 10:30 I'm under the covers; at 11:00 I'm out," she said about her usual off-court routine. "I don't think I'd watch anything at midnight.
Russian third seed Sharapova, the 2006 champion hit 35 fewer unforced errors than in her wayward first round, while winning points on 14 of 16 forays to the net, but in this match she compensated for her 23 unforced errors with 28 winners, She won 59 points to 32 for Yakimova and saved all five break points against her as she brushed aside her 84th-ranked opponent to set up a clash with Italian Flavia Pennetta for a last 16 place. Sharapova's win came on the day when her half of the draw, which had already lost Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the first round, was stripped of two-time champion Venus Williams through illness.
"The next match is certainly not the final," she said. "We're in the third round. There are many more to go. It only gets tougher from here. But that's what's so special about being a winner at the end of the tournament. You have to play every match. It's a road. Hopefully, I'll get to that stage."
World No 4 Sharapova made quick work of her task but still did not finish until after midnight and looked sleepy when she finally faced reporters.
After a bit of a slow start, Sharapova turned it into a mismatch. Maria won the first set 6-1 in 42 minutes and faced breakpoints in her opening service game but held her serve and broke Yakimova in the next game to lead 2-0. Maria broke Yakimova again as she dropped only one game in the set.
Maria got an immediate break in the first game of the second set when she hit a backhand crosscourt winner and again to lead 4-1 when Yakimova hit a forehand out. Another break in the final game sealed the win when Yakimova hit a shot out.
"Overall I did many things much better than the previous round. I really had to. I didn't play my best tennis, but I gave myself a chance to play another match and improve. I did a good job with that."
"But when you're in the moment, when you start the match, I'm not thinking what time it is or I want to get off the court as soon as I can. When you're out there, it's just about doing whatever you can to win the match."
In Friday's third round match, Maria will play No.26 seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy. Maria has played Pennetta three times before and leads the series 2-1 - they have played twice before on hardcourts and they are level 1-1.
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