• China Open

Sharapova and Serena ease into third round

ESPN staff
September 30, 2014
Sharapova eases into third round

Maria Sharapova eased into the third round of the China Open with a 6-2 6-2 victory against Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.

Sharapova saved seven of the nine break points she faced against the Ukrainian, who reached the semi finals last week at the Wuhan Open.

Maria Sharapova saw off Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-2 © Getty Images
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"She's sort of an up-and-comer, but playing really well," Sharapova said. "She has had some big results this year against top players. Maybe the scoreline was a bit easier than the match showed."

Serena Williams also had a comfortable time of it, beating Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 6-2, while sister Venus Williams defeated Caroline Garcia 6-4 6-3.

Agnieszka Radwanska became the highest seed to lose in the women's draw after falling to Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-4.

Since winning the Canadian Open in August, Radwanska hasn't progressed past the quarter-finals in five events. She could have wrapped up her spot in the season-ending WTA Finals this week, but lost in the second round in both Wuhan and now Beijing, where she was seeded fifth.

Elsewhere, Simona Halep survived a tight match to see off China's Lin Zhu 7-5 6-4. Halep, the second seed, is also searching for form after crashing out to world No.121 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the US Open.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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