Maria Sharapova trounces Lucie Safarova to enter quarters – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2012
Former world number one, Maria Sharapova, topped the 16th seed, Lucie Safarova from Czech Republic, in straight sets at the Toray Pan Pacific Open 2012 on Wednesday. She notched up a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory against her fellow 25-year-old to power
into the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Five event held in Tokyo, Japan.
Seeded second in this event, Sharapova entered this outdoor hard court event in high spirits and stomped over the left-handed Czech in their second outing. She not only avenged her loss at the Mutua Madrid Open earlier this circuit but also levelled the
head-to-head series by 1-1 against the world number 17.
Sharapova, who completed her Career Grand Slam after conquering Roland Garros this season, made a sloppy start at the Ariake Coliseum. She suffered the first blow in the opening game and went 0-1 down. However, the Russian unleashed her skills and bagged
the proceeding three games with two breaks of serve. Apart from losing her edge in the fifth game, Sharapova maintained her intensity and reeled off last three games. She brushed off one out of three breakpoints she faced but capitalised on four out of 10
break chances to formulate a 6-2 success.
The world number two, Sharapova kept momentum running towards the following set. She got the coveted break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Apart from losing her serve twice and trailing at 4-5, the Russian stayed focused and recovered in the
10th game. She lost her serve again but through her exceptional counterattacking skills, Sharapova snatched her break back and took the set to a tie-breaker. The ultra-fit Russian cruised to a 3-0 lead in it before closing out the set with a 7-6(5)
win.
Next in queue for Sharapova is the eighth seed, Samantha Stosur, who trashed the Slovakian number one, Dominika Cibulkova, in straight sets to set up this clash.
The fifth seed, Angelique Kerber, will accompany the Russian number one in the final eight. She crushed the Polish starlet, Urszula Radwanska, with double breadsticks in just 47 minutes to progress at this event.
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