MOSCOW: Second seed Maria Sharapova was unceremoniously bundled out of the Kremlin Cup yesterday, losing to Belarus' Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-2 in the second round.
It was Sharapova's second successive defeat by an 18-year-old after the world number four went out of the third round of the US Open last month to Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.
In her first match in almost six weeks, Sharapova, who had been nursing a shoulder injury, looked a shadow of the player who won two grand slam titles as a teenager. She made 45 unforced errors and served seven double faults in a match lasting one hour 49 minutes.
It also marked the third year in a row that the Florida-based Russian's stay in Moscow has ended in disappointment.
She was forced to pull out with a foot injury last year and was beaten in the quarter-finals in 2005.
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Quick exit: France's Amelie Mauresmo hits a return against Vera Zvonareva of Russia during their Kremlin Cup match in Moscow. Zvonareva won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 – Reuters |
Mauresmo's compatriot, fifth seed and Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, was also sent home by unseeded Russian Vera Dushevina 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.
On a day of upsets, seventh seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland was knocked out by another unseeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-4.
In the quarter-finals, Dushevina will face top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, while Dementieva meets Azarenka.
In the men's draw, fourth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, who won his first professional title in Moscow five years ago, became the first player into the last eight with a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win over Russian wildcard Igor Kunitsyn.
Eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany joined Mathieu after outlasting Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
On a humid evening in the Thai capital, Jankovic let slip a one set lead to the gutsy Chinese and called it a day after a medical timeout, having lost the second set tiebreak.
The world number three had looked in good form during the first set, racing through her service games and unloading a torrent of topspin-loaded drives from her forehand and backhand to win 6-4.
Jankovic was dictating the match from the baseline, forcing frequent errors from Zi, whom she had darting across the court for most of the first set.
But the determined Chinese battled back in the second, breaking Jankovic after four games as the heat and a series of marathon rallies took their toll on the Serb, who told medical staff she was experiencing breathing difficulties.
Djokovic will next face Czech lucky loser Tomas Zib who upset Germany's Florian Mayer 6-1, 6-4 earlier in the day.
Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero also booked a place in the second round after beating fifth seed Guillermo Canas 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. – Agencies
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