Maria Sharapova blasts her way through Irina-Camelia Begu in the opener – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Russian beauty queen, Maria Sharapova, posed yet another display of sheer dominance and class on the tennis courts, overwhelming the Romanian underdog, Irina-Camelia Begu, in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday.
The world number two needed merely 61 minutes to register a thumping 6-0, 6-3 win over the 55th ranked opponent in Madrid, Spain.
Being a part of WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory swing, the contest was played on the new blue clay for the first time in the history of the coveted event. The new surface had nothing to do with the class and
power hitting of Sharapova, who absolutely manhandled Begu throughout the contest. It was the first encounter between these two players and the second seeded Russian took no time in getting under the skin of her bleak opponent. She improved 23-4 in the running
WTA season with her triumph in Madrid, inching closer to her second championship title of the year.
"The blue clay is obviously different, visually," said Sharapova in her post match reviews. "When you play on red clay for so many years you get used to it, but as tennis players we're always adjusting to different things and different
conditions, so it is what it is. There are some parts of the courts that maybe have a little more clay than other parts, but it's just the first year, so I'm sure they're still working kinks out."
The Russian diva came out with all her guns blazing right from the beginning of the match and went on for a seven-game rampage before her opponent could make any move. Sharapova nailed three successive serve breaks and won 11 out
of 12 first serve points to bag the opening set with a bagel. Her pin-point hitting was backed up an amazing return game, as she clinched 8 out of 11 points on Begu’s serve to get the upper hand in the contest.
The unseeded Romanian finally held her serve in the second game of the following set but received another jolt from the belligerent Russian in the sixth game to fall back at 2-4. Sharapova went on with her winning impetus and served
out of the match at 5-3 to reach the second round draw.
Sharapova came to Madrid after winning the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where she toppled the world number one, Victoria Azarenka, in the final. The hot favourite Russian will next face the unseeded Czech competitor,
Klara Zakopalova, in the second round of the Madrid Open.
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