Russians back on track to repeat history at London Olympics – Tennis News
Russian superstars join hands and build up a strong start in their title defence at the London Olympics. Firstly it was the former world number one, Maria Sharapova, who completely slaughtered the Israeli superstar, Shahar Peer,
in her maiden appearance as an Olympian on Sunday.
Moreover, the third day was an emphatic one for the Russian superstars. The 13th seed Vera Zvonareva ousted the Italian veteran, Francesca Schiavone, in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
At the end of the match, the 27-year-old Russian added, "We've always had tough matches against each other but I've managed to win a lot of those. Today was the first time we played on grass, so it was different this time, but
no matter what I tried today, it worked. Playing against someone with so much experience like Francesca, it's nice to win."
Earlier in the day, the 16th seed Nadia Petrova outlasted the Chinese superstar, Jie Zheng, in a tight two-setter; winning the encounter 6-4, 7-6(7).
She commented afterwards, "I'm quite exhausted. Luckily my doubles partner Maria Kirilenko didn't waste too much energy, so hopefully she's in good shape for our match! I had to fight for every single point today, but I'm pleased
to win."
Petrova’s double partner, the 14th seed Maria Kirilenko, had a premature win against the injury-stricken 22-year-old Colombian, Mariana Duque-Marino.
She thumped her rival to an emphatic bagel in the opening set 6-0 and swapped breakpoints in the second set before the 22-year-old Colombian decided to call it a day and withdrew from the event due to an injury.
In the doubles category, the team of Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova dumped the Kazakh duo of Yaroslava Shvedova and Galina Voskoboeva, in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to end the day at a high note.
Russian clean swept the medals in the women category in the previous edition of the Olympics Games. Elena Dementieva grabbed the gold medal by plonking her compatriot, Dinara Safina, in the final showdown whilst the former playboy
magazine cover model, Vera Zvonareva, bagged the silver medal with straight sets win over the Chinese number one, Li Na.
So considering the stats, it is a booming start for the Russians overall but the competition is tougher this time around. However, they are capable of repeating the history especially with the level of talent they have got in their
squad. Sharapova is expected to lead the show with Zvonareva repeating the heroics. Kirilenko and Petrova should seal gold in doubles.
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