Sharapova Wins; Kuznetsova Falls in Rome

Posted on May 11, 2005

Maria Sharapova’s second attempt at grabbing the No. 1 Ranking away from Lindsay Davenport got off to a promising start on Tuesday as the Russian pounded Anabel “Funky Cold” Medina Garrisues 6-4, 6-2 in the first round at Rome. Sharapova, who needs to win the title to overtake Davenport at the top spot, wasn’t exactly pleased with the effort.

"Overall, I don't think I played great tennis," the top-seeded Sharapova said. "I was making too many errors in the beginning of the match. As the match went on, I was feeling a little bit better with my strokes."

Also not pleased with her effort was her countrywoman and No. 5 seed Svetlana “The Kewz” Kuznetsova, who was ushered out by veteran Argentine Paulo Suarez 6-2, 6-4. Suarez missed the start of the season due to a leg injury and then missed four more weeks due to a neck sprain in April.

In the “all future” teen match-up, Ana Ivanovic defeated No.12 seed Tatiana Golovin, 6-3, 6-4.

"I played against her already twice before, so I know a little bit about how she plays," Ivanovic said of this budding rivalry. "I just had to play my game, try to do the best."

Also posting wins on Tuesday were Conchita Martinez, who put an absolute hurt on Angela Haynes 6-0, 6-1; plus, No.15 seed Ai Sugiyama, Anna Smashnova and Maria Vento-Kabchi.

The Wednesday line-up features Amelia Mauresmo (v. Stosur), Serena Williams (v. Schiavone), Elena Dementieva (d. Dulko), Vera “Warren” Zvonareva (v. Jankovic).