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Sharapova firepower overwhelms Aussie at US Open
2007-08-31
Maria Sharapova produced another display of fearsome big hitting to roll into the US Open third round on Thursday. The 20-year-old Russian glamour girl opened her shoulders to blast past overmatched Australian Casey Dellaqua 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes. That makes it just two games lost in two rounds for the defending champion, who next takes on 18-year-old Polish hope Agnieszka Radwanska. "I did a pretty good job of being solid, but it's only going to get tougher from here on," she said. "I'm feeling really good and that's the best part of being an athlete - just coming out and being healthy." On a hot and humid day that saw several players struggling with their fitness, the top half of the men's draw reached the third round stage with all of the big names making it through. Top seed Roger Federer, aiming to become the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the US Open four times in a row, had already made it through by winning his second round tie late on Wednesday. Joining him on Thursday was the man he defeated in last year's final, Andy Roddick. The American fifth seed dropped the first set against Argentina's Jose Acasuso but won the next two as the South American struggled with a leg injury. He failed to appear for the fourth set and Roddick moved on to a third round clash against former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson who outlasted France's Arnaud Clement in a gruelling 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (9/11), 7-7 (7/1) tie. "Even after the first set I wasn't panicking. I just wanted to see if he could keep it up for an entire five-set match," Roddick said. "You never like winning matches like that especially as I think I was starting to play well, but at the end of the day your goal is to go through." Also going through in Federer's quarter of the draw was another American, 18-year-old Donald Young, who benefitted from Frenchman Richard Gasquet's withdawal due to illness. The former world junior No.1 will play Spanish serve-and-volleyer Feliciano Lopez with the winner playing Federer, should he defeat giant American newcomer John Isner in Saturday's highly-anticipated clash. The winner of the Roddick-Johansson tie will take on the winner of the match between Spain's Fernando Verdasco and Thomas Berdych, who made it through in contrasting styles. Verdasco despatched Frenchman Gilles Simon in straight sets 6-0, 6-4, 6-3, while Lopez staggered past Russia's Igor Andreev in a 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) marathon. In the second quarter of the draw, Britain's Andy Murray blew hot and cold before reaching the third round with a strength-sapping 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win over Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman. The 20-year-old Scot is on the comeback trail after a summer wrecked by a bad wrist injury and he served up a typically erratic performance against Bjorkman, the oldest man in draw at 35. He next takes on 31-year-old Korean Hyung-Taik Lee, who upset 14th seed Guillermo Canas 7-5, 7-5, 6-3. "I hit more balls in that match than in a long time and its good for my body to have come through it. My wrist was fine - didn't feel it at all," said Murray. Fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, beset by questions about illegal gambling patterns in tennis, put his troubles aside to breeze past Germany's Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 and next plays Nicolas Almagro of Spain. There were wins also for Tommy Haas of Germany and Sebastien Grosjean of France and they will play each other for a slot in the final 16. The other main American hope in the men's draw - James Blake - plays his second round tie later Thursday, confronting the unorthodox skills of French veteran Fabrice Santoro, who is playing in his 61st Grand Slam tournament, equalling the record of Andre Agassi. The bottom half of the women's draw also reached the third round stage with no major upsets. Sharapova apart, there were wins for three Russian threats - fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, sixth seed Anna Chavetadze and seventh seed Nadia Petrova. Martina Hingis, who won her only US Open title as a 16 year-old 10 years ago, also moved on with a 6-2, 7-5 win over France's Pauline Parmentier and two years into her comeback to the sport, she looked forward to mounting a real challenge from the weaker half of the draw. "I'm just really happy to be playing again and I already did better than last year," she said. "So I feel like I've got nothing to lose out here this time."
Henin beats Venus at U.S. Open (2007-09-07)Sharapova sharp in rout while Roddick moves on (2007-08-31)Sharapova firepower overwhelms Aussie at US Open (2007-08-31)Longest Open match since '79 (2007-08-31)Defending champ Sharapova coasts at Open (2007-08-29)
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