Peng puts Sharapova out
Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:51
Peng, ranked 53rd in the world, secured back-to-back breaks to win the first set, then raced into a 5-1 lead in the second.
Sharapova launched a comeback, winning three consecutive games, but Peng broke again amid deafening noise from the home crowd to progress.
“I was having trouble with a few things,” said Sharapova. “It was not my day I guess.
“Usually I’m able to fight and get myself going when things are not going well and I was not able to do that for some reason.
“I’m not sure why, but sometimes you have those days.”
Li Na could not join her compatriot in the last eight, crashing to a 6-2 6-0 defeat at the hands of fourth seed Elena Dementieva.
Sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova also progressed, beating Alona Bondarenko 6-3 4-6 6-0, while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, conqueror of Venus Williams, saw off Aleksandra Wozniak.
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