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Sharapova sparkles in Amelia
09/04/2008 08:59 - (SA)
Amelia Island - Top seed Maria Sharapova made short work of her first match at the Amelia Island Championships with a 6-1 6-3 win over qualifier Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on Tuesday.
Sharapova needed just 70 minutes to overpower Czech
Zahlavova Strycova, the world number 149. The Russian won the
last five games of the first set, needing just 23 minutes to
clinch it.
Zahlavova Strycova held service twice at the start of the
second set but Sharapova won four consecutive games with
blistering cross-court forehands and shots that often clipped
the lines.
Zahlavova Strycova became frustrated and hurled her racquet
to the ground after a Sharapova forehand hit the netcord and
just fell over the net to win the sixth game of the set in her
first clay-court match of the year.
"Coming into the match you really don't know what to expect
because you know your opponent has already had a few matches on
clay, and this is your first match," Sharapova told reporters.
"The most important thing today was just try to get used
to the atmosphere on the court and also the opponent."
Sharapova's serve was effective, landing 73% of her
first deliveries, and she enjoyed the setting.
"I love the stadium. I love how quaint everything is, the
trees around the stadium," Sharapova said. "It's kind of homey.
Usually the stadiums that we play in are huge and a lot bigger
than this."
- Reuters
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