Maria Sharapova crushes Shuai Peng to make it to the quarterfinal – Wimbledon Championships 2011
2004 Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova defeated Chinese Shuai Peng 6-4, 6-2 on Monday to book her place in the last eight of prestigious 2011 Wimbledon Championships in United Kingdom.
Both players started very aggressively as some highly competitive tennis was witnessed early in the opening set. After both women refused to give up on their serve games, the match entered a very exciting phase. Being the more
mature of the contestants, Sharapova showed great character to clinch her fifth service game to take a tricky 5-4 lead in the set, requiring a break of serve to pocket the opener.
Peng failed to handle the pressure and gifted points to her opponent in tenth game of the set. Grabbing opportunities with both hands, Sharapova converted the break chance to lead the set score 1-0.
Having gained the momentum in the match, Sharapova continued to pressurise her opponent even more in the following set. Breaking the serve early in the set provided her with a 2-0 lead. Peng suffered serve break regularly throughout
the set thus letting her opponent take complete control over the contest.
Sharapova continued to play with freedom and executed her game plan to perfection. Firing a blistering serve ace, she set up two match points for her and then converted one of them to seal an emphatic victory. The Russian must
be very happy with the kind of composure she showed on the court. Her foot work was excellent and she was brave enough to hit the ball and volley. Peng on the other hand lacked the firepower in some areas of the game and paid the price for inability to win
big points.
Troubled with various forms of injuries throughout her career, the former world number one Sharapova has made a strong come back to the WTA arena this season. Improving with every match, she bagged first WTA title of this season
at Madrid. If she can keep her current level of game play for the next few matches at the tournament, she could surprise the likes of Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
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