Wimbledon 2012 Update: Sharapova and Clijsters Advance to Fourth Round at Wimbledon
Windy conditions at Wimbledon proved to be tough on Maria Sharapova’s serve, but she rallied to beat Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-4 in the third round. Sharapova broke Hsieh three times in the first set with an easy victory seeming to be in sight, however, the wind began to blow in the second set, and Sharapova began to have difficulty with her serve. Five double faults led to her trailing 4-2 in the second set. She then rallied and took the last four games of the set to win the match.
"I faced [Hsieh] many times in the juniors," said Sharapova. "She used to be a nightmare for me because she used to slice and drop shot on clay. We used to have real battles, and we haven’t played since then. I knew her game really well and she didn’t have time to do all of that today on grass."
Last year, Sharapova lost in the Wimbledon finals to Petra Kvitova. She just won her first French Open earlier in June to complete her career Grand Slam. Sharapova is seeking her second Wimbledon title. Sharapova next faces the 12th-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany, a 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 winner over American Sloane Stephens on Friday.
Kim Clijsters of Belgium, who is playing in her last Wimbledon event, advanced to the fourth round when 12-seeded Vera Zvonareva retired in the second set with a respiratory problem. Zvonareva was forced to take a medical timeout at 2-1 in the second set after loudly coughing throughout the duration of the match. She had to retire four games later, leaving the score at 6-3, 4-3. Clijsters advances to play number eight Angelique Kerber, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over American Christina McHale.
