Sharapova's experience told against Beatrice Capra

"When you play someone on a good run who is young and eager it's always challenging because they go out and have nothing to lose. Sometimes they are the most dangerous opponents."
Maria Sharapova shows she has learned her lesson after last year's defeat to Melanie Oudin, with a demolition of Beatrice Capra.

"I could have done better and it was close in some of the games. When you're losing that bad in your head it's like 'Just please let me win one game!"
Capra's pleas go unheeded as she ends up on the wrong end of a 6-0 6-0 scoreline.

"Before the match, she would just walk past me and kind of, like, give me a glare, which is kind of intimidating. After the match when we shook hands, she was really nice. She said, 'Great tournament. Keep up the hard work.' I think she's a really nice person."
Sharapova also wins the mental battle judging by Capra's comments.

"You hit the ball one direction, it goes another. You're just getting ready to hit the ball and it just moves away from you."
Jelena Jankovic struggles to get to grips with the blustery conditions.

"It felt like Hurricane Earl came to the center court. It was incredible."
Jankovic's fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic also finds the weather a bit too bracing.

"He has some serious talent. We came through the juniors together and he used to toy around with me."
Roger Federer takes revenge on boyhood rival Paul-Henri Mathieu with 6-4 6-3 6-3 win.

"My time will come. If it won't come now, it will come tomorrow, so I'm not afraid of that."
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki, 20, keeps this year's campaign in perspective.

"The older you get, the more physically strong you get. So when you're young, it's tough to compete with the bigger guys."
Thiemo de Bakker, 21, is another youngster happy to wait for their time to come.

"I realized he was very flat. He was not moving. I tried not to think of that but he was moving quite slowly."
Albert Montanes twigs that something is up with Kei Nishikori before he retires from their match.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version