Maria Sharapova beats Anna Chakvetadze in the opening round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
Russia’s Maria Sharapova came up with a brilliant performance against compatriot Anna Chakvetadze in the first round of Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Sharapova, who is ranked number sixth in the world, earned
a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory over the compatriot to enter the second round of the tournament.
The Russian No.2 controlled the match from the onset, breaking Chakvetadze at the first opportunity in both sets on her way to a victory in just 68 minutes. A shell-shocked Chakvetadze simply had no answer to Sharapova’s returns
of serve and vivacious passing shots, missing her chance to enter the second round she lost the match in just 68 minutes.
The 24-year-old Russian, who is chasing her second title at the Wimbledon Championships, did her part very well and broke early in the each set to extinguish Chakvetadze’s bid to reach the main spot.
With eye-popping accuracy, Sharapova came storming out of the blocks and after a single ace of her own, she broke Chakvetadze’s powerful serve in her first game to go 1-0 ahead, before a couple of some trademark drop-shots sealed
a good hold for 6-2.
The 2004 Wimbledon Champion was very sharp in shifting speeds and spins as she reduced Chakvetadze’s status to nothing more than a very ordinary opponent. The Russian number one was simply ruthless, winning a whopping 92 percent
behind her first serve and an equally good 83 percent on her second serve respectively.
After claiming the first set, a break right at the beginning of the second put Sharapova well in charge again, and some Chakvetadze’s unforced errors then gave the higher ranked Russian the chance to make it 4-1, which she took
with utmost ease.
Sharapova sealed the match with the help of some grinding shots and took her decisive match point just in time to stop the match clock at 68 minutes for a sublime display of grass-court tennis at her best.
The Russian number two wrapped up her clean effort with a whopping 24 winners and two aces. Furthermore, she clinched 70 percent on her first serve, 64 percent on her second serve and a total of 35 of 60 points on her return.
Continuing her quest for her second title since 2004, Sharapova will meet either Germany’s Angelique Kerber or Great Britain’s Laura Robson in the second round of the tournament.
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