Second-seeded Maria Sharapova reached the quarter-finals of the $721,000 WTA hardcourt tournament here Wednesday, setting up a possible showdown with Serena Williams. Sharapova, ranked number five in the world, defeated Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to advance as she tries to build on the momentum of a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.
She led a string of seeds into the quarter-finals as third-seeded Marion Bartoli, fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova all advanced. Sharapova fought her way through despite 11 double faults, finally advancing after 2 hours and 12 minutes. Sharapova admitted she "kind of lost it" in the second set.
"I got away from what I was doing well and she had all the confidence and all the momentum going into the third set." Hantuchova built a 2-0 lead in the third set before Sharapova won four games to wrap it up. "I was frustrated by the fact I wasn't able to maintain what I was doing into the second set," Sharapova said. "I was able to break her back and got the energy going again." Sharapova fell in the Wimbledon final to Czech Petra Kvitova, but was encouraged that her first appearance in the All England Club final was proof that the injury-plagued years which threatened to derail her glittering career are behind her.
She next faces either Williams or Russian Maria Kirilenko, who play on Thursday. Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, is unseeded after an injury layoff of nearly a year saw her ranking plummet. France's Bartoli advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Canadian Rebecca Marino. In the quarter-finals, Bartoli will face either Poland's Urszula Radwanska or Japan's Ayumi Morita. Morita opened her campaign with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over former world number one and seventh seed Ana Ivanovic on Tuesday. Bartoli enjoyed a first-round bye.
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