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Sharapova reaches third term in Tokyo
It took Sharapova one hour and a half to make a winning start in Tokyo. Former world number one, who is chasing her third title of the season in Tokyo after Rome and Cincinnati successes, took the first lead very easily, breaking the Thailand player twice in the opener. Maria gave her opponent no chance to break, leaving her four games adrift in the opener.
As for the second set, it saw Tamarine broke the favorite twice but also concede three services, something which cost her the two set loss. Sharapova was threatened with a tie break at one point, but a late break saved her from a potential overturn. The Russian hit seven aces past her opponent, finishing the game with a solid 70 first serve percentage, a 62 service one and four double faults.
She also won 49 percent of return points and converted five out of six break points, compared to Tanasugarn who came up with a 67 first serve percentage, a poor 38 return one, three aces, four double faults and a 51 service percentage.
The head to head series between the two has now gone 4-0 to the world number two whose previous win dated from this term’s Australian Open. Sharapova will next meet Julia Goerges, who is chasing her second success of the year in Tokyo.
The German crashed Greta Arn in two sets, 6-2, 6-1, needing just one hour to secure the third term berth. Goerges broke the Hungarian twice in the opener and three more times in the last round when she also conceded a service. Winner of this season’s Stuttgart event, Goerges came up with a 62 first serve percentage, a 56 return one.
She also hit a couple of aces, committed a double fault and won 64 percent of service points, compared to Arn’s 56 first serve percentage, two aces, a 36 return percentage, three double faults and one out of six break point conversions. The German will meet Shrapova for the third time, the head to head series between the two having gone 2-0 to the Russian whose last win over the world number 20 dates from this year’s Australian Open.
Third seed Victoria Azarenka, winner of two titles this year in Miami and Marbella, has also made a two set rpgoress into the third round after beating Romania’s Irina Begu 6-1, 6-3. The young Belarusian only needed one hour and 15 minutes to book a place into the next round where she will be playing Klara Zakopalova.
Azarenka broke the Romanian twice only in the first set when she also saved four break points, but had to struggle a bit more in the second term when she grabbed a couple of more breaks amid the term. Begu missed all he five break points, allowing the Belarusian to close the meeting very quick.
Victoria won 73 percent of first serve points, 48 of return ones and 68 of service, leaving the court with four out of nine break point conversions and six double faults. On the other side, Begu came up with a 66 first serve percentage, a poor 32 return one, four aces, five double faults and a 52 service percentage.
Her next opponent Zakopalova stunned 16th seed Shahar Peer in two sets, 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and five minutes. The two exchanged three breaks in the first set, two of which being taken by the Czech who managed to go three games atop of the favorite who could only convert one out of five break points.
Concerning the second set, it saw the same Klara improve the play and pick three more breaks without losing a service. She finished the game with a 72 first serve percentage, two double faults, an ace, a 54 return percentage and a 62 service one. On the other side, Peer won 46 percent of first serve points, 38 of return ones and 46 of service points, committing at the same time three double faults.
Fifth seed Petra Kvitova defeated Luxembourg qualifier Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-3 to meet Vania King in the third round. It took the Czech one hour and five minutes to make the progress as she broke her opponent twice in the opener and a couple of more times in the last one.
Her performance included a 51 first serve percentage, three aces, two double faults, a 47 return percentage and a 83 service one, compared to Minella’s 54 first serve percentage, five double faults, an ace and a poor 17 receiving percentage. Kvitova’s next opponent Vania King follows a 6-4, 7-6 win against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The first set saw the two players exchange five breaks, three of which taken by the American who managed to build a two game lead she eventually converted into a one set lead. Concerning the second set, it saw the Russian push the game into the tie break. The late run was a very tight one as the two went head to head until the 13th point.
With a late effort King closed the meeting after two sets, winning the breaker at the death, 8-6. King finished the game with a 61 first serve percentage, a 49 return one and a 56 service percentage, including at the same time four double faults and four out of eight break point conversions.
Russian’s showing included a 61 first serve percentage, seven double faults, a poor 44 return percentage, six aces and a 51 service percentage. The head to head series between the two has now gone 1-1. Anastasia’s only win comes from the 2008 US Open Grand Slam.
Seventh seed Marion Bartoli edged host Ayumi Morita 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 and needed two hours and 18 minutes to secure the third term berth. The French won the first set very easily, managing to break her opponent twice. But the second term saw the crowd favorite power through to a clean leveler as Morita blanked her opponent to push the game into a three setter.
Unfortunately for the Japanese, she lost her pace, something which helped the French to go three games atop and seal the victory in over two hours. Bartoli finished the game with a 34 first serve percentage, a 46 return one, eight double faults and a 53 service percentage, compared to her opponent’s 64 first serve percentage, 47 receiving one, three double faults, two aces and a 54 servicepercentage.
World number ten Bartoli has also improved her head to head series lead to 6-0 against the 42nd-ranked. She will next meet Chinese Shuai Peng who ousted Christina McHale in two easy sets, 6-0, 6-3. Peng needed one hour and 11 minutes to make the progress, breaking her opponent three times in the opener and twice more in the last term when she also conceded one service and saved three break points coming from the opposite side.
Overall, she thus converted five out of 11 break points, hit an ace, committed three double faults and won 67 percent of service points. As for the American, McHale won 58 percent of first serve points, 44 of service points and 33 of returning ones. She also hit an ace and committed three double faults. Peng has also grabbed her first win over the world number 51 who still leads the direct confrontations with the Chinese whom she has defeated twice, last occasion at the 2011 Rome event.
Ninth favorite Agnieszka Radwanska also needed three sets to beat Angelique Kerber whom the Polish ousted after surviving an early scare which saw her lose the opener easily, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Radwanska conceded a couple of services and failed to convert her only break point in the opener.
The second set saw her level the score thanks to three breaks which helped her to push the meeting into a third set decider. The German also grabbed a break but could only save six out of nine break points coming from the opposite side. Concerning the last term, it was dominated by the same Radwanska who managed to keep the pace and set a three game lead she eventually converted into a hard earned victory.
The polish needed nearly two hours to beat the German whom she faced for the fourth time ever. Agnieszka came up with a 71 first serve percentage, six aces, a 60 service percentage and a double fault. She also won 47 percent of return points and converted five out of 12 break points.
Kerber won 60 percent of first serve points, committed five double faults and won 5 3 percent of service points. Her showing was also filled with an ace, four breaks and a 40 return percentage. The world number 33 German still leads the head to head meeting with the 13th ranked whom she has defeated twice, last occasion at this year’s US Open Grand Slam.
Said Radwanska, who will next meet Jelena Jankovic: “I played better in the second and third sets. I focused on every point and tried to be consistent until the end. We had some very close games; I just think I was better on key points. Our last match was a long time ago so I’m looking forward to playing her again.”
Eighth seed Jankovic crashed Barbora Strycova in two sets, 6-4, 6-2 to make an easy progress in Tokyo. The two players exchanged five breaks in the first term, three of which being taken by the Serb who took the first lead at the death and thanks to a late break. She then dominated the second set during which she picked a couple of more breaks.
Jankovic saved all the three break points from Barbora who conceded the victory in one hour and 23 minutes. The Serb finished the game with a 55 first serve percentage, a 54 return one, three double faults and five out of five break point conversions. She also won 66 percent of service points, compared to Strycova’s 68 first serve percentage, a 34 return one, five double faults and an ace.
Former world leader Ana Ivanovic eliminated Laura Robson of England 7-5, 6-4, needing nearly one hour and a half to advance through the third term. The Serb survived an early scare which could have cost her a tough tie break. Robson pushed opener as further as she could, but a late break propelled Ana through the first lead.
The Briton, who broke her opponent twice in the second term, also conceded three services to pack from the Japanese event earlier than expected. Ivanovic finished the clash with a 55 first serve percentage, 11 aces, a 42 return percentage, three double faults and a 62 service percentage.
On the other side, Robson had a 52 first serve percentage, a 38 return one, eight double faults and four aces. She also converted two out of ten break points and saved three of seven ones from Ana. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki is also expected to make her debut in Tokyo as the Dane will meet Jarmila Gajdosova in the second term.
On the second half of the draw, Vera Zvonareva is to confront Tsvetana Pironkova, while Samantha Stosur is to play Maria Kirilenko.
Tokyo Prize Money and points:
Winner – $360,000 and 900 points WTA
Runner up – $180,000 and 620 points WTA
Semi finalist – $90,000 and 395 points WTA
Quarter finalist – $41,450 and 225 points WTA
Third round – $20,550 and 125 points WTA
Second round – $10,575 and 70 points WTA
First round – $5,500 and one point WTA
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