Francesca Schiavone finds French Open success tough to follow
Francesca Schiavone wrote her name in the record books as a French Open champion this year, but following that success up on the WTA Tour has, so far at least, proved tough going for the Italian.
Rumbled in her first-round matches at Eastbourne and Wimbledon by players ranked outside the top 50 – though we’ll concede that grass probably isn’t the 30-year-old’s ideal surface – Schiavone has now been tossed out of the Istanbul Cup in straight sets by Elena Baltacha.
The world No. 59 cruised past her top-10 ranked opponent 6-4, 6-2 as she continues to enjoy what has been a career-best year so far.
“It's my third Top 10 win and I've had such a great year," Baltacha said. "I'd like to think this is the real Elena Baltacha. I'm beginning to perform much more consistently, and I'm improving a lot."
It’s good news for Baltacha, who moves through to the quarter-finals of a WTA Tour tournament for the third time this year, but not so for Schiavone, who has now won just one match and lost three since her surprise victory at Roland Garros.
"She [Baltacha] served very well and played well at the most important moments," Schiavone said after the match. "I didn't play so well so I'm a little bit upset, but it can happen... Maybe today I wasn't ready to compete at a good level."
Meanwhile in California, a player who is only missing the French Open from her Grand Slam collection, Maria Sharapova, has reached the quarters of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the unseeded Olga Govortsova. Sharapova will now play Russian counterpart Elena Dementieva for a place in the semi-finals.
At the same tournament, 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, whose struggle for form continues, has lost her second round match to defending champion Marion Bartoli, who will now play eighth seed Victoria Azarenka for a place in the semi-finals.
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