Sharapova advances in Los Angeles

CARSON, Calif. (AP)—Maria Sharapova played like a contender for the Los Angeles Women’s Tennis Championships title with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Victoria Azarenka Wednesday night at The Home Depot Center.

Sharapova, still in comeback mode after missing seven months due to shoulder surgery, displayed both her fighting spirit and a steadier game in the 2-hour, 32-minute match, finally taking control in the second and third set with to six of her nine service breaks.

The Russian star used two of those breaks in each set to take 3-0 leads and the third to enable her to serve out the set and the match and join top-seed and top-ranked Dinari Safina in the third round.

Sharapova’s rebuilt serve was erratic, her four aces offset by a dozen double-faults, but she was much steadier with her groundstrokes than Azarenka, of Belarus.

“I’m not happy with my game at all. The execution wasn’t there today,” said Azarenka, who hadn’t played since losing in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. “Maybe it was from not playing, but I have to work hard, for sure. Just too many mistakes. My game wasn’t there tonight.”

Safina opened her bid for a second straight title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Daniela Hantuchova on Wednesday afternoon.

Safina, 23, who used last year’s championship as one of the springboards for the climb that lifted her from No. 17 at the start of 2008 to No. 1 in the rankings on April 20, took a 3-0 lead in the first set.

She got another service break to go up 5-2 and won it on her third set point after going to deuce five times.

In the second set, Safina got the last of her five service breaks to take a 4-3 lead and finished off the 89-minute match in routine fashion. It was Safina’s fifth win in eight matches overall with Hantuchova, of Slovakia, and her third win without a loss this year.

“It was a good match,” Safina said after the win that guaranteed her a berth in the season-ending Championships in Doha, Qatar, in late October. “I feel I can improve. It was a solid match. I didn’t do anything spectacular. We play the same way, so it depends on who’s going to take charge of the points, and I think at the crucial times I was more aggressive today.

Wickmayer beat American qualifier Jill Craybas, 7-6 (2), 6-1 on Wednesday and was joined in the third round by No. 5 seed Nadia Petrova, No. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta, No. 13 Samantha Stosur and No. 14 Jie Zhgeng, who beat Elena Vesnina 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, to set up a third-round date with Safina.