Serbian second seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals of the China Open on Wednesday, but Maria Sharapova became the latest upset victim on the women's side of the $6.6-million event.
Serbian second seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the quarter-finals of the China Open on Wednesday, but Maria Sharapova became the latest upset victim on the women's side of the $6.6-million event.
Beyond Sharapova's loss, it was a good day for Russian players in Beijing, with the other four in action - Nikolay Davydenko, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - all into the quarter-finals.
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Djokovic, looking for his third ATP title of the year, easily defeated compatriot Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-0 in just over an hour on centre court at the Olympic tennis venue.
The 22-year-old - who had 17 winners and just seven unforced errors - broke Troicki to go up 5-3 in the first set and never looked back, reeling off the next seven games to close out the match.
"I didn't feel that energetic on the court at the start of the match but managed to break him... and from that point on, I played quite well," Djokovic said.
"We grew up together. We come from the same country, same city. We're very good friends... so it's not easy to play against your friend on the court. But knowing his game quite well, I approached the match confident."
World No 15 Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam winner, surrendered her serve four times in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to China's Peng Shuai.
The 22-year-old Russian looked sluggish, with her ferocious ground strokes too often landing in the net or beyond the baseline, while the 53rd-ranked Peng remained solid, making just three unforced errors to Sharapova's 21.
"My energy level was definitely not where it should have been.... I don't think I executed as well as I should have," Sharapova said, heaping praise on her opponent.
"She played really solid and really aggressive and she did all the right things to win the match today."
Sharapova added her name to the list of stars who have made an early exit from the mixed ATP/WTA event.
Dinara Safina and Venus Williams - along with defending champions Jelena Jankovic and Andy Roddick - have also been ousted from the tournament.
Fourth seed Davydenko, who won his third ATP title of the year in Malaysia last weekend, trounced Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, allowing the world number 22 only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 romp.
The 28-year-old Russian is fighting to secure a place in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, which will feature the top eight men's singles players.
Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez and Robin Soderling are also vying for the final three spots in the London draw. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Djokovic have qualified.
Djokovic and Verdasco, a winner Wednesday over fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, will battle it out in the quarterfinals.
Davydenko will face Croatian eighth seed Marin Cilic, who rallied to defeat France's Julien Benneteau in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.
In the women's draw, fourth seed Dementieva took less than an hour to dismiss Asia's number one Li Na of China, 6-2, 6-0.
Dementieva, who won the Olympic gold medal on the same centre court last year, broke the 16th-seeded Li's serve five times en route to the easy win.
Kuznetsova, the sixth seed, lost her focus mid-match but stormed back in the third set to beat Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
The two-time Grand Slam winner showed some grit in the decider, breaking Bondarenko at the start and cruising to victory without dropping another game.
Pavlyuchenkova, who upset World No 3 Williams on Monday, defeated Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, and will face Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.
Top seed Nadal and second seed Serena Williams will be in action later on Thursday.
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