Maria Sharapova battles past Laura Robson into the third round – London Olympics 2012
World number three, Maria Sharapova, edged past the 18-year-old Briton, Laura Robson, in a classic two-setter to reach the third round of London Olympics on the eve of Tuesday. She won the match in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-3 but
the scores didn’t do justice to the 98th ranked Briton who deserved to win one set at least at the grass courts of Wimbledon, London.
It was rematch from Wimbledon last year. A similar score line was witnessed in that encounter as well that hints at something monumental at the disposal of the 18-year-old left-handed Briton who is eager to prove her worth at the
professional level.
Robson commenced the match with a serve hold to love and won the first point on her opponent’s serve before the Russian took control and held her serve to level the scores at 1-1. A similar scenario was witnessed in the following
two games that pushed the scores to 2-2.
Robson was the first one to fall victim of a breakpoint that was cleverly won the shrieking queen with a forceful backhand winner. However, the Russian’s serve was broken back in the eighth game that delighted the home crowd and
more importantly tied the scores at 4-4.
No player tested their rivals in the return game that enforced the tie-breaker round into play. With immense experience of such situations, the third seed Russian inched ahead to register a lead in the sets category.
Sharapova commenced the second set in emphatic fashion. She grabbed an easy serve hold at the start and broke serve upfront to take a lead of 2-0. She cruised away to a 2-0 with a serve hold to love. A swap of breakpoints towards
the ending stages of the set helped the Russian to hang on to that lead and she rounded off the proceedings with the serve hold.
Sharapova was complementary towards his opponent at the post-match interview. She commented, "I think she has a lot of potential, no doubt. I think consistency's the biggest key, obviously. When you come out on a big stage, the
whole crowd behind you, playing someone against whom you have nothing to lose, you play your best tennis. But it's also a matter of going out and playing on Court 18 and performing at the same level week in, week out. She certainly improved from the last time
I played her. You can see the little improvements she's made. I'm sure she has a bright future ahead of her."
Sabine Lisicki is up next for the Russian in the hunt for her maiden gold medal.
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