Sharapova storms into fourth round
Maria Sharapova raced through to the fourth round at Wimbledon with a crushing 6-2 6-3 win over Klara Zakopalova.
The fifth seed and title favourite had laboured to victory over Britain's Laura Robson on Friday, when she was taken to a tie-break in the opening set and then proved unconvincing as she looked to close out the match.
But aside from a blip early in the second set, 24-year-old Sharapova was considerably sharper and had little trouble putting away her Czech opponent on Court Two, which has been at the centre of the scheduling controversy at this year's tournament.
Unlike defending champion Serena Williams, who voiced concern that she was asked to play there while the leading men stayed on Centre and Court One, Sharapova looked to be in her comfort zone inside the 4,000-seat arena.
She won routinely apart from when she slipped a break shortly after tying up the opening set.
A double fault by Sharapova, the 2004 champion, gifted Zakopalova a 2-1 lead.
But the break was returned in the sixth game, when Sharapova seized on a second opportunity to draw level.
From the first she netted a backhand into the net at 30-40 against the Zakopalova serve. She kept the pressure up though, and 29-year-old Zakopalova fired a forehand from the baseline into the net to give away her advantage.
The underdog did not win another game, as Sharapova set up a last-16 clash with China's Peng Shuai.
