Maria Sharapova breezes past Su-Wei Hsieh to enter round two – French Open 2013
Second seed, Maria Sharapova, crippled the Taiwanese challenger, Su-Wei Hsieh, with a breadstick at the Roland Garros 2013 on Monday. She clobbered a 6-2, 6-1 success against the Taiwanese to secure a spot in the second round at
this major clay court tournament held in Paris, France.
The gorgeous Russian made her presence felt at the Court Philippe Cartier. The contestants last battled each other at the Wimbledon Championships and after pocketing this match, Sharapova improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head
series against Hsieh. The Russian was forced to pull out from Rome Premier event due to illness. She was aiming to find her rhythm back at the Stade Roland Garros.
The 25-year-old stated in a post match press conference, "The most important thing after Rome was just to get my energy back. Obviously it wasn't fun getting sick and having to pull out of the tournament, so I wanted to come to
Paris and just try to get that energy and spark back."
Sharapova started her battle in great shape. She drew the first blood in the second game and took a 3-0 lead. The Russian held her entire serves with poise and cashed another break chance in the last game, eventually sealing the
opener by winning six games to two.
Currently ranked number two in the world, Sharapova lifted her game in the following set. After Hsieh kept her serve in the following game, the Russian unleashed barrage of groundstrokes and consequently clinched the set with a
breadstick.
The former world number one recreated her magic at the Court Philippe Chatrier. Sharapova manipulated a better first serve share of 68 per cent as opposed to her rival’s 62 per cent and impressively marked 25 out of 28 points on
it. She fired four aces and ended the battle with 57 points.
Next in line for Sharapova is the Canadian challenger, Eugenie Bouchard. The Canadian fended off late resistance to outsmart the Bulgarian star, Tsvetana Pironkova, with a breadstick.
The Canadian reflected after earning the glory, "I might have lost focus a little bit, but she definitely raised her level. She started serving much better and was holding a little easier. But I stayed calm. I knew I was playing
well. I knew I could close the second set. At 5-all I had a good hold then played pretty well in the tie-break."
Another former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, will be joining Sharapova in the following round. She eased past the British starlet, Laura Robson, in straight sets to progress.
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