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Sharapova comes through testing opener
Beijing, 22 September 2005 - Top seed Maria Sharapova needed the nerves of a grand slam champion to escape an upset bid from fellow teenager Shahar Peer, earning a tightly contested 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 win on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open.
The world No.1, last year’s Wimbledon winner, went through some shaky moments in her two-hour, four-minute battle with the 48th-ranked Israeli.
But Peer, aged 18 like Sharapova, was unable to achieve her impossible dream, leaving the favourite as a winner after going the distance on Centre Court at the Beijing Tennis Centre.
“I played really well in the first set but then I just got too comfortable out there,” said Sharapova, a semi-finalist last year. "I think she was nervous at first but then she began playing better and the second set was more up and down.
“I wasn’t physically tired, but mentally I was coasting. So I just had to get myself together mentally and fight for it.”
Sharapova will line up on Friday against Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe, who stopped American Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-4.
Tournament director Ekkehard Rathgeber said Sharapova had made an immediate impact on the China Open. “Maria is extremely popular here in China and you could see that from the way the fans reacted when she played,” said Rathgeber, who is also Chief Operating Officer of TOM Group Limited, an associate of Hutchison Whampoa.
“She lost her way a little in the second set but really showed her quality in the third.
“It’s great for the China Open that the world No.1 is playing in the tournament and I’m sure fans are already looking forward to her next match.”
Russia’s Maria Kirilenko will become the next test for China’s newest tennis heroine, Sun Tiantian, who stunned 2004 Beijing champion Serena Williams in the second round.
Kirilenko advanced to the last eight at the after beating Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). Marta Domachowska of Poland defeated China’s Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-1, leaving Sun and Peng Shuai as the last two home players in the field.
Sharapova was dominant at the start against Peer, winning the first seven games in half an hour. But suddenly, the challenger came alive, breaking the seed three times in the second set to square the contest as Sharapova produced a dozen of her 21 unforced errors.
Sharapova needed an early break in the third and her trademark steely determination to see the tight victory through. She improved to 49-8 this season as she bids for an 11th career title.
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Released on behalf of TOM Group and the China Open by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.