TENNIS WTA Stuttgart – It is the match of the day and for many an early final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014 – Maria Sharapova against Agnieszka Radwanska. The defending champion from Russia and the Polish World No. 3 will contest the first quarterfinal in the Porsche Arena on Friday. From Stuttgart Simone Kemler
It is the match of the day and for many an early final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2014 – Maria Sharapova against Agnieszka Radwanska. The defending champion from Russia and the Polish World No. 3 will contest the first quarterfinal in the Porsche Arena on Friday.
Seeded number one in Stuttgart, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska cruised comfortably into the quarterfinals when beating Italian Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-2 in the day’s opening encounter. “It was my first match here. So, it’s always tricky and I can’t really complain about anything today,” said the 25-year old from Krakow. Sharapova, the 2012 and 2013 champion, overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour 32 minutes. The duel between the two Russians was over in 1 hour 32 minutes – for Sharapova it was almost a win at the double. Her first round match against Lucie Safarova had taken more than twice as long (3 hours 23 minutes).
“I was very happy to win in two sets. So, it was easier for myself today than on Tuesday,” said Sharapova. For the Porsche Brand Ambassador it was the tenth win in a row in Stuttgart where she is unbeaten. It means she is three victories away from a first ever hat-trick of wins at the same tournament. “Agnieszka is No. 3 in the world and I will certainly look to improve in all aspects of my game because she’s playing well,” said Sharapova when looking forward to her quarterfinal against the Pole. The statistics are strongly in her favour – of the ten matches she has played against Agnieszka Radwanska, Sharapova has won eight.
