MIAMI — Maria Sharapova continued her fine recent form as she saw off Elena Vesnina to reach the last 16 of the Miami Masters on Sunday night.
BBC Sport
Third seed Sharapova took one hour and 47 minutes to overpower her fellow Russian 6-4, 6-2.
The 25-year-old four-time Grand Slam winner, who won the Indian Wells title last weekend, will now play Klara Zakopalova in the next round. Zakopalova beat Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 7-6 to set up a meeting with Sharapova.
“I personally love Miami, I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl.
“I’ve only had a few days to recover from Indian Wells, but there’s no greater motivation than winning,” Sharapova said.
Sharapova could regain the world number one spot from Serena Williams — who had to take to a bicycle to win on Saturday — depending on how the two go on this week.
Sharapova, who has been a runner-up in Miami on four occasions, has now won her last 15 games against fellow Russians.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
She was broken in the first set, but soon recovered to take a comfortable victory.
