Today’s Women’s News (5/7) – Madrid

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 7th May 2013

Today's Women's News (5/7) - Madrid

epa03538511 Alize Cornet of France in action during her match against Venus Williams of the USA, round two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia. 16 January 2013. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Madrid

Grand Slam champions suffered contrasting fates with Maria Sharapova surviving a battle to reach the second round while Samantha Stosur was sent home in straight sets. Second seed Sharapova, winner of four majors with a chance of retaking the WTA number one ranking from Serena Williams, fought through a lengthy first set but gained some momentum in the second to finally defeat Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 7-5, 6-2.

Sharapova got much more than she might have expected from the 334th-ranked Dulgheru, who only returned to the circuit in March 2012 after knee surgery. Sharapova, who won a second Stuttgart title eight days ago, hung onto her clay momentum as her Roland Garros title defense approaches.

“In the last week I’ve really had to adjust to the different circumstances and the environment a bit. When I got here it was really cold and the ball and the court were really heavy. A few days have passed and now it’s like a whole ‘nother tournament. The Russian won a fifth consecutive match on clay as she begins the quest for a 30th career trophy.

Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, losing finalist at the weekend in Portugal, sent out 2011 US Open winner Stosur 7-6(7), 6-2, with the ninth-seeded Australian sending a return long to lose after nearly two hours. Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka returned to tennis for her first clay match and had to scratch out a defeat of Portugal champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(8), 7-6(3) which took two and a quarter hours.

In the second round, Britain’s Laura Robson slammed former semi-finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, sending the fourth seed to defeat 6-3, 6-1 with 27 unforced errors. German sixth seed Angelique Kerber beat France’s Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-2, while French Open finalist Sara Errani, the Italian seventh seed, defeated Sorona Cirstea 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.