Molik moves ahead, Matosevic out
Monday, 15th March, 2010
Alicia Molik is continuing her charge up the WTA rankings, reaching the fourth round of the Indian Wells event.
The 29-year-old Australian, on the comeback trail after a second career-threatening ailment, cruised into the round of 16 with a 6-0 6-2 victory over British qualifier Elena Baltacha.
Molik next faces China's Zheng Jie who battled past former champion Maria Sharapova 6-3 2-6 6-3.
Zheng, whose run to the Australian Open semi-finals along with that of compatriot Li Na electrified Chinese tennis, lost to Molik in the first round in Dubai last month.
Zheng toiled for two hours, 43 minutes to dispatch the 10th-seeded Sharapova - the second set alone taking 68 minutes.
"It was a tough match," Zheng said. "The second set, I still had some chances, a lot of games went to deuce."
Sharapova was impressed by Zheng's tenacity.
"She's like a ball machine," Sharapova said. "She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep."
After dropping her serve in the first game of the third set, Zheng broke back immediately. Sharapova broke again to take a 3-2 lead, after which she received treatment on court on her elbow - and didn't win another game.
"I just felt like I couldn't really extend it all the way," Sharapova said. "It was a little stuck. So it was going on for a while, but I thought it would be best to call the trainer.
"I actually didn't want to take a timeout then, but she said if I didn't do it then I couldn't do it later. I had to take a three minute timeout."
Sharapova said the elbow had been bothering her since she arrived at Indian Wells, and was a hindrance on her serve.
For Zheng, the injury timeout was a welcome breather.
"It was good fighting for the final set," she said. "I think it was 2-3 down, and I came back to 6-3. It's not easy. I'm so tired.
"When she called the trainer, I called my coach. I said, 'Oh, I have time for rest.' Coach tell me, 'Keep fighting.' It gave me more confidence."
Sharapova won the title in the California desert in 2006, but didn't play singles here last year as she continued her recovery from shoulder surgery.
The former world number one lost a three-set slugfest to compatriot Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the Australian Open, but bounced back last month by lifting the WTA title in Memphis.
Meanwhile, Marinko Matosevic's debut ATP Masters 1000 World Tour tournament has ended at the hands of former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Ninth-seeded Tsonga was too strong for Matosevic and beat the Australian qualifier 6-1 6-3 to move into the third round.
By Robert Kemp
Molik next faces China's Zheng Jie who battled past former champion Maria Sharapova 6-3 2-6 6-3.
Zheng, whose run to the Australian Open semi-finals along with that of compatriot Li Na electrified Chinese tennis, lost to Molik in the first round in Dubai last month.
Zheng toiled for two hours, 43 minutes to dispatch the 10th-seeded Sharapova - the second set alone taking 68 minutes.
"It was a tough match," Zheng said. "The second set, I still had some chances, a lot of games went to deuce."
Sharapova was impressed by Zheng's tenacity.
"She's like a ball machine," Sharapova said. "She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep."
After dropping her serve in the first game of the third set, Zheng broke back immediately. Sharapova broke again to take a 3-2 lead, after which she received treatment on court on her elbow - and didn't win another game.
"I just felt like I couldn't really extend it all the way," Sharapova said. "It was a little stuck. So it was going on for a while, but I thought it would be best to call the trainer.
"I actually didn't want to take a timeout then, but she said if I didn't do it then I couldn't do it later. I had to take a three minute timeout."
Sharapova said the elbow had been bothering her since she arrived at Indian Wells, and was a hindrance on her serve.
For Zheng, the injury timeout was a welcome breather.
"It was good fighting for the final set," she said. "I think it was 2-3 down, and I came back to 6-3. It's not easy. I'm so tired.
"When she called the trainer, I called my coach. I said, 'Oh, I have time for rest.' Coach tell me, 'Keep fighting.' It gave me more confidence."
Sharapova won the title in the California desert in 2006, but didn't play singles here last year as she continued her recovery from shoulder surgery.
The former world number one lost a three-set slugfest to compatriot Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the Australian Open, but bounced back last month by lifting the WTA title in Memphis.
Meanwhile, Marinko Matosevic's debut ATP Masters 1000 World Tour tournament has ended at the hands of former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Ninth-seeded Tsonga was too strong for Matosevic and beat the Australian qualifier 6-1 6-3 to move into the third round.
By Robert Kemp
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