Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic win their second round matches – Mutua Madrid Open 2013
Second seed, Maria Sharapova, carried on her voyage to the world number spot and won her second round battle at Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday. She absolutely hammered the 20-year-old American qualifier, Christina McHale, in straight
sets, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the pre-quarter-final rounds of the WTA Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, Spain.
The Russian blonde took merely 66 minutes to register her third consecutive victory against the 55 ranked American youngster. Sharapova spared just three games for McHale in the entire matchup and stormed her way to victory in
her usual assertive fashion. She broke her opponent five out of eight times in the match and won 19 out of 25 first serve points en route to victory.
"It was important to be ready and start quickly, especially since we started so late," Sharapova said. "I knew I had to be focused from the very beginning, and I think I did a good job with that today."
Sharapova will face the German tennis ace, Sabine Lisicki, in the next round.
"We've always had difficult encounters," Sharapova said of her rivalry with Lisicki. "She's a tough opponent and plays extremely well against top players - I expect a really tough match from her."
The other former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, also won her second round match against the South African veteran, Chanelle Scheepers. The Serbian diva spent only 55 minutes to wrap up the proceedings in twin sets, 6-2, 6-2, and
marched into the third round of the tournament in a convincing manner.
It was the first encounter between these two contenders but Ivanovic didn’t take long to get under the skin of Scheepers. She crafted a total of 10 break points in the match but only five conversions proved to drive the 29-year-old
South African out of the tournament. Ivanovic comprehensively secured 20 out of 29 points on her first serve.
"I played well today - I served really well, especially," Ivanovic said. "Scheepers is a dangerous player, beating Jankovic first round, so I have a lot of respect for her and knew I had to play well."
Ivanovic will take on the British tennis prodigy, Laura Robson, in the third round later this week.
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