2011 Auckland Classic: Maria Sharapova reaches round two
Former world number one Maria Sharapova of Russia won her opening round match of the 2011 Auckland Classic after posting a straight set win over her Italian foe Alberta Brianti on Monday. The final match score was 6-2, 6-3.
The right hander, as a result of this victory, has advanced into the second round in Auckland. The world number eighteen required only ninety minutes to get past Brianti, who came late into the main draw in place of Anastasija
Sevastova who pulled out of the event due to illness.
Maria was previously scheduled to meet Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in her opening round clash; however the last moment withdrawal of the fifth seed Anastasija Sevastova resulted in a reshuffle of the main draw.
The Russian tennis sensation, who made her debut on the WTA tour back in 2001, was extremely delighted to start her 2011 campaign with a win.
"This was my first match of the year and I had not played a tournament in a while, so it was important to get a feel for everything. I thought I could have closed it out a bit sooner, but she definitely pushed me and I guess I
wanted to play a few more games,” reflected the Florida resident after her victory on Monday.
She, as a result of this victory, will next take on Renata Voracova in the second round on Tuesday. Renata, the unseeded Czech player broke back from a slow start to thrash out Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain in three sets on Sunday.
The final match score was 4-6, 7-6, (8-6) 6-0.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova, also did well to topple Sacha Jones with a score line of 6-4 6-2. The Russian tennis ace was broken on three occasions however still managed to seal win against Jones in the end.
Anne Keothavong from Great Britain also bounced back from dropping the opening set to see off Edina Gallovits. Anne at last won the match in three sets. The final match score was 6-7(7-4) 6-4 6-0. Her fellow player, Heather Watson,
on the other hand, failed to make her way into the opening round after falling to Brianti 6-3 6-2 in the last qualifying round.
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