Sunday, September 04, 2005

Maria cruises in 4th round at U.S Open

Maria easily defeates Sania Mirza in the 4th round at the U.S Open, winning in less than an hour in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.

Maria will face Nadia Petrova in the quarter finals.

Maria ended the historic run of Mirza, the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a grand slam tournament, traded crunching groundstrokes with the Russian world number one but was gradually overpowered.

Sharapova broke Mirza to lead 4-2 in the first set and then fended off three break points in the next game to build a commanding lead over the world number 42.

posted by adlib. @ 4:50 PM   0 comments



Coached by her father, Youri Sharapov and Robert Lansdorp ... Mother's name is Yelena... Started hitting tennis balls at age four; at six, participated in exhibition in Moscow that featured Martina Navratilova; began training at Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, USA, at age nine (which required a two-year separation from mother due to visa restrictions and finances) ... Off-court interests include fashion, singing, dancing and movies (favorites are Mona Lisa Smile, Something's Gotta Give and Love Actually) ... In second year of high school and studies via an Internet school ... Enjoys reading books in the Sherlock Holmes and Pippi Longstocking series ... Prefers Russian and Thai cuisine; favorite dessert is French crepes with Nutella; favorite drinks are orangina and virgin strawberry daiquiris ... Signed with IMG Models in November 2003. ... At 2005 Australian Open, donated value of Porsche Cayenne she won at 2004 WTA Tour Championships (approx. US$56,300) to those affects by Russian school hostage crisis.



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