Mauresmo, Sharapova shine in Wimbledon rains

Champion Amelie Mauresmo shone amid the rain clouds on Wimbledon's Centre Court with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Italian Mara Santangelo inthe third round on Saturday. Earlier, Maria Sharapova squeezed in a victory between downpours at Wimbledon, beating Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-3 6-3 to book her place in the fourth round.
Serving first, after the match was delayed by almost two hours, Mauresmo set up break point against Santangelo with a lovely backhand crosscourt shot and the Italian went 2-0 down when she fluffed a forehand. A double fault from Santangelo and then a wide forehand gave Mauresmo another easy break for a 5-1 lead and the fourth seed sealed the set with an ace.
Mauresmo, with her right thigh strapped, appeared to be unstoppable and she broke Santangelo in the opening game of the second set but a couple of errors from the Frenchwoman, including a double fault, allowed the world number 29 to level at 1-1. Mauresmo broke twice more but just when she seemed to have the match sewn up, Santangelo began to put up a fight.
She had two break points as Mauresmo served for the match at 5-2. Santangelo was unable to convert either, however, and another ace from Mauresmo put her safely through to the last 16. The Russian gained the advantage in the first set when she broke in the fifth game. Her superior ball placement and light touch put pressure on Sugiyama in the ninth and the Japanese 26th seed handed her the set with a double fault.
The second seed seemed to lose concentration after winning the set, allowing Sugiyama to break her to love immediately and then hold serve to go 2-0 up. The world number two got the break back in the sixth game and then stepped up a gear to rattle off the remaining three games, sealing victory with a forehand winner just as the rain which had delayed the start of the match poured again.
The players had to make a hasty dash off the court so the covers could be pulled over the grass. Sharapova, the 2004 champion, will play either Venus Williams or Akiko Morigami in the fourth round.