Second-seed Maria Sharapova defeated Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-3, firing 18 winners and breaking five times, to move into the third round of the Madrid Open.
The Russian said that a few days of training on the controversial blue clay surface last week paid dividends.
“It’s not so much about the colour,” she said. “It does look good on TV. But it plays a bit different. It’s about the amount of clay on the court and the way it bounces.”
On the men’s side, Radek Stepanek beat Bernard Tomic in the first round, with the Queensland youngster exiting 6-2, 7-5. Ninth-seed Gilles Simon fought back over Fabio Fognini 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-3 while 16th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov defeated of Pablo Andujar 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2012.
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