Dementieva and Sharapova advance in Stanford

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:39

Elena Dementieva is through to the second round of the Bank of the West Classic after cruising past Anne Keothavong 6-1 6-4 in the first round.

“For the first round it was a good match,” said the Olympic champion, who is making her debut in California. “I was playing well but I hope to have a practice and work on some things.”

The Russian raced through the first set and held a 5-1 lead in the second before the Briton briefly rallied, but it was all too late.

“For the first round it was a good match, I was playing well”

Dementieva, the No.3 seed in Stanford, is guaranteed an all-Russian second round match as she awaits the winner of Maria Kirilenko’s showdown with compatriot Anna Chakvetadze.

In the night session, former world No.1 Maria Sharapova continued her comeback from shoulder surgery by outgunning Ai Sugiyama 6-4 6-7(6) 6-1.

The Japanese veteran pushed Sharapova for nearly two had a half hours as the three-time Grand Slam champion got off to a slow start.

Sharapova did enough to take the first set 6-4 and was a break up in the second set, but Sugiyama broke back in game ten to level at 5-5 and then won the tie break. The Russian stepped up her game in the final set which she won at a canter.

Elsewhere No.7 seed Agnieszka Radwanska blitzed Sorana Cirstea 6-0 6-1, while the Romanian’s compatriot Monica Niculescu’s fortunes fared rather better as she hammered Meghann Shaughnessy 6-1 6-0.

Top seed Serena Williams faces a tricky opening match against Li Na on Tuesday.

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