Maria Sharapova gusts away Roberta Vinci to reach the quarter-finals – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Italian tennis professional, Roberta Vinci, becomes the third victim of the world number two, Maria Sharapova, in the BNP Paribas Open on Tuesday. The Russian reigned supreme over the Italian in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 and booked
a spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
She just took 72 minutes to power down the 22nd ranked Italian. The opening set witnessed a couple of breakpoints being traded between the contestants before the Russian took the lead by registering the third breakthrough
in succession. It was a classic turnaround in the proceedings considering that Sharapova was not on top of her form.
Sharapova stunned the Italian with another eye-startling thumping winner that clasped the fourth breakthrough for her. The opening set ended in a flash and the Italian was finding it hard to dig deep and establish a stronghold
in the match.
The Russian explored her delightful form in the second half; thumping her opponent down in every aspect of the sgame. She converted two allotted breakpoints to take a lead in the start and kept on the onslaught.
Vinci had an opportunity to win one break back but she failed to convert it. She won 40 points compared to 65 of the Russian. Sharapova needs to work on her serves accuracy to cruise into the semi-final of the tournament.
She will take on her compatriot, Maria Kirilenko, in a ‘Maria vs. Maria’ contest for the place in the semi-final. Talking about her next match, Sharapova stated, “"We met for the first time a long time ago, in the junior days,
probably under 12’s or under 14’s. I don't think we played each other that tournament, I don't really know what we were doing; we were just running around freely like little girls out of control. I don't know what you really do at that age. But we were enjoying
ourselves”
She further added, “We became friends pretty quickly. I don't know how it came about, if somebody introduced us, but we kind of hit it off. We were the same age too."
It will be an enthralling battle to say the least.
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