Maria Sharapova was struggling.
She had never played a match against another Russian across the net who bore a strong resemblance to her, physically and in style of play. Her usually reliable serve was getting broken.
Then it all clicked yesterday, and last year's runner-up at the Australian Open was through to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Elena Vesnina that was much harder than the score indicated.
Defending champion Serena Williams and top-ranked Justine Henin also advanced against opponents with similar games. Williams next faces 12th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova, while Henin puts her 31-match winning streak on the line against Taiwanese qualifier Hsieh Su-wei.
But 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo, seeded 18th, fell 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Australian Casey Dellaqua, who had a year-end No. 78 ranking and had earlier knocked off No. 15 Patty Schnyder.
Former No. 1 Mauresmo, who has fought nerves before, double-faulted while serving at 4-5, deuce in the third set. Dellaqua then finished it off with a forehand inches inside the corner that Mauresmo let drop for a winner as the Rod Laver Arena crowd erupted in cheers for the last local hope in the women's draw.
She earned a matchup against No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, who had to save match points in her first-round match and a code violation for coaching -- by her mother in the players' box -- in the second game of the third set of a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over No. 30 Virginie Razzano of France.
On the men's side, second-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Nikolai Davydenko advanced in straight sets, while No. 6 Andy Roddick was playing in the late match against No. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Nadal next plays No. 23 Paul-Henri Matthieu, who had a five-set victory over Stefan Koubek, while Davydenko meets fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who downed No. 20 Ivo Karlovic. Eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet also advanced and next faces unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
After routing Lindsay Davenport in the last round -- a match that Sharapova said she prepared for as if it were a final -- she seemed puzzled and frustrated that she couldn't put away Vesnina until she finally put it all together and ran off the last nine games.
"I really tried to keep the intensity I had in the previous match, but that's always difficult," said Sharapova, who next faces another Russian, No. 11 Elena Dementieva, who beat Israel's Shahar Peer. "She came out having not really much to lose."
Sharapova grunted louder and louder and hit harder and harder as she was broken twice in the first set by Vesnina, who was in constant trouble on her own serve. Known for her deliberate routine before she serves, Sharapova also got a warning for taking too much time and double-faulted on the next point.
"When it got close, I felt like I had a huge advantage ... whether that's experience or her being a little tight," Sharapova said. "I still felt like I had the edge in the match."
Finally finding her rhythm, particularly on badly executed drop shots and other softer offerings from Vesnina that turned into little more than target practice, Sharapova had 11 winners to only five unforced errors in the second set, breaking Vesnina for the seventh consecutive time to end the match.
Williams, who improved her record to 26-1 at Melbourne Park since the start of 2003, has said she likes hot weather, and on a warm, muggy day, she was wearing a sweatshirt for her warmups.
It must have helped, because she came out hot, as her sister Venus and their mother applauded at courtside.
With opponent Victoria Azarenka liking a fast pace, there were no high, looping moon balls here, just power tennis. And when it comes to power, Williams may be the best.
Her serve was working particularly well, with 15 aces and a stretch of seven service games in which she yielded only six points.
She credited physiotherapy treatment she had on her shoulder before the match.
Azarenka played well, but she never had a serious chance. She had no break points, and every time she made a mistake, Williams capitalized.
"I feel pretty good about where I am," she said. "Hopefully, I'll peak later in the tournament."
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to