Murray proves a bit special: But it's not pretty for Sharapova

13 April 2012

Andy Murray survived as Britain's lone singles representative after outclassing Xavier Malisse in straight sets.

But there was no second-round fairytale for shock qualifier Chris Eaton, the world No 661, beaten by No 25 seed Dimitry Tursunov, while Anne Keothavong lost to reigning champion Venus Williams.

Roar power: winner Andy Murray

Roar power: winner Andy Murray

On another day of Wimbledon shocks, women's No 3 seed Maria Sharapova was beaten in straight sets by a little-known, fellow Russian, while men's seeds Andy Roddick and James Blake were also sent packing.

To add insult to injury, Muscovite Alla Kudryavtseva then told glamour girl Sharapova that she did not care much for her expensive tennis outfit.

World No 40 Kudryavtseva, daughter of a world champion Greco-Roman wrestler, dispensed with niceties when explaining her joy at toppling one of the tournament favourites.

'It's very pleasant to beat Maria,' she said. 'I don't like her outfit. I liked it at the French Open but it's a little too much of everything. It was one of my motivations to beat her.'

She also hinted at the wellknown aloofness of Sharapova around the locker room and said she was unafraid of expressing a negative opinion about the Russian icon.

'Personally, I don't know her well. I think no one on tour knows her well because she is not very talkative and outgoing,' said Kudryavtseva.

'If I'm not afraid to play her, I'm not afraid she's going to catch me in the dressing room and say: "You don't like my outfit". I will say: "Sorry, that's just my opinion".'

Sharapova was distinctly off her game and offered no excuses for a second successive early Grand Slam exit after being humbled at the French Open.

She played better than me, she had nothing to lose and went for her shots. I was just pretty tentative,' said the 2004 champion.

Murray is Britain's sole representative after defeats for Eaton and Keothavong. The Scot earned a third-round meeting with Germany's Tommy Haas after seeing off Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

It was a heartening performance from the 21-year-old, who put his relaxed frame of mind down to an ability to switch off between matches by playing pool and walking his border terrier Maggie.

'Neither of the matches has been perfect but at the start of a slam to get through comfortably is exactly what you want,' he said.

Eaton tried to make up a deficit of 628 places on the ranking list against Tursunov, but lost 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 loser. Keothavong also fell by the wayside after Venus WIlliams beat her 7-5, 6-2.

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