Parisian joy turns to Wimbledon despair for Schiavone
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}By Justin Palmer
LONDON (Reuters) - From joy to despair, elation to misery.
Schiavone, a quarter-finalist last year, was tamed 6-7 7-5 6-1 by an opponent who dug in and matched the hard-hitting Italian toe-to-toe throughout a contest that ended six minutes short of three hours.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Different surface, a different feeling.... I did not take my chances. It's not easy on grass if you do not serve so good," a downbeat Schiavone told a news conference.
But while her fellow Russian has reached the highest levels of the game and sampled grand slam glory, the 23-year-old Dushevina has not kicked on from her junior success.
The world number 56 has yet to advance beyond the second round at Wimbledon, a record she now hopes to set straight.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I had a plan. Francesca is the French Open champion but I have been junior champion here and I know how to play on grass," she said.
"I like grass, I don't really like clay. Let's see, I really want to stay for the second week."
Dushevina shrugged off losing a first-set tiebreak without registering a point to dig in during an attritional second set, her battling qualities emphasized by a marathon 11th game in which she saved four break points.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schiavone seemed visibly deflated by her inability to seize her chances. Dushevina comfortably held to level the match and quickly raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider as her opponent's game disintegrated.
Schiavone, who turns 30 on Wednesday, avoided a third-set whitewash by briefly rallying before Dushevina ended her resistance on her second match point.
She now plays Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Editing by Miles Evans)