Sharapova battles, but wins

2008-05-15 18:47

Rome - New world number one Maria Sharapova was made to battle all the way but she qualified for the Rome International quarter-finals with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Denmark's Carloine Wozniacki on Thursday.

Despite being kept on court by a stubborn Dominika Cibulkova for almost three hours until late on Wednesday night, the Russian still came out with all her fighting spirit under the sun in the Italy capital on Thursday.

She edged a combative first set 6-4 and then needed to dig deep to come back from 5-1 and two breaks of serve down in the second to win five straight games.

However, when needing to serve for the match and despite leading 30-15, mistakes crept into her game and she handed the Dane a break with a double fault.

However she gritted her teeth and knuckled down to see out the tie-break 7/3, sealing it with a forehand winner down the line.

It was a determined display with plenty of powerful, deep hitting that at times had been lacking against Cibulkova.

It was the second piece of good news for Sharapova on the day as it was also confirmed that she would be the new world number one following Justine Henin's retirement when the WTA rankings are released next week.

Former world number one Serena Williams upset Italian hearts as she moved into the quarter-finals at the expense of home favourite Sara Errani.

The former Wimbledon champion won 6-4 6-3 in a typically dominant performance.

And she said things are looking good for her ahead of the French Open, which starts later this month.

"I'm definitely feeling much fitter than last year or the year before," she said.

"It's a good feeling, I've had enough match play and I'm feeling good."

- AFP