Maria Sharapova strides past Anastasia Rodionova to the second round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
World number one, Maria Sharapova, opened up her Wimbledon campaign with a fantastic win over the Aussie starlet, Anastasia Rodionova. The Russian wrapped up victory in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 and advanced to the round of 64 in
London, on the eve of Monday.
The top seed Russian bagged the opening serve game with ease. She squandered an opportunity to break serve in the second game that allowed her competitor to survive an early scare. However, she was able to clasp on to the second
breakpoint allotted to her as she marched on with a lead of 4-1.
Both players swapped breakpoints to further push the scores at 5-2. Rodionova saved three breakpoints in the eighth game of the match but failed to hold the Russian beauty queen on the fourth occurrence; losing the opening set
in just 35 minutes into play.
The second set started off with a serve hold for the Russian before she powered down her rival to win an early breakpoint. The reigning French Open Champion bagged the following two serve games to consolidate her position further.
World number 133, Rodionova, clinched one breakpoint back in the following return game but failed to hold serve that gifted the match to her rival. It was a breathtaking start for the Russian superstar who was extremely pleased
with her performance. She finished the second set in 35 minutes as well and left the arena in the trademark fashion; blowing kisses for her fans to all four sides of the court.
In an interview that was conducted at the end of the match, Sharapova stated, “The first one's always tricky, and I had a few letdowns towards the end of both sets, but overall I'm pretty happy with the way I performed. It's always
a very nice feeling for me to be back on Centre Court here at Wimbledon. It's been a year - it's such a special place for me."
She further added, "In terms of a comeback, yes, because it's a Grand Slam win and getting back to No.1 but in terms of my career, definitely not. I still believe I can achieve a lot more. That's what drives me and gets me up in
the morning still.”
Next up for the Russian superstar is the Bulgarian tennis professional, Tsvetana Pironkova, who outfoxed the Serb qualifier, Vesna Dolonc, in the opening round. Sharapova is expected to devastate the next opponent as well.
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