Sharapova Advances
Russia’s Maria Sharapova saw off Patty Schnyder of Switzerland during the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles November 8, 2005. Nadia Petrova of Russia lost to U.S. Lindsay Davenport also on Tuesday. But it was French Mary Pierce, who carried the opening day at that WTA contest by knocking out Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
World champion Maria Sharapova felt obviously a little off the pace by the start of the contest. Overdone by injuries, Maria played only two tournaments after the U.S. Open – she reached semifinals in Beijing and was crushed out of the Kremlin Cup. It is not so easy not to play for a month and play top eight players, Sharapova said. Not at her best on Tuesday, the Russian proved able to prevail over Patty Schnyder. Maria’s playing was far from even but she managed to regain control at the crucial points to win 6-1 3-6 6-3, as a result. Sharapova’s rival in the Green Group contest is Lindsay Davenport, who easily overcame Nadia Petrova of Russia (6-2 7-6 7-1) on the same day.
But neither Sharapova nor Davenport were in the center of attention on November 8 in Los Angeles. Mary Pierce was the obvious hero, once she beat Kim Clijsters in the Black Group (6-1 4-6 7-6), the more so that till victorious Tuesday, Mari Pierce lost four times in four matches vs. Clijsters, and was actually smashed up by her in the U.S. Open final.
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All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 10, 2005
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