Tetchy Sharapova spoils fun on Court One
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By Ed Osmond
LONDON (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova turned party-pooper on Friday when she overcame Briton Laura Robson and a partisan crowd on Court One to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
"I felt like I started off really slow and she started off really well," Sharapova told reporters. "Quite the opposite of me, I think she was much more aggressive than I was in the beginning.
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"I think I was playing too much defense and she was serving really well."
Fifth seed Sharapova grew increasingly tetchy as the crowd sensed a huge upset, making a few unsuccessful challenges to line calls and talking to the umpire.
Left-hander Robson served well and struck several fierce forehand winners against the three-times grand slam winner and former world number one who won the Italian Open this year to underline a return to form.
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The crowd slow hand-clapped as they waited for the line calls to be reviewed but Sharapova managed to claw her way back into the set and forced a tiebreak.
Former junior champion Robson, the world number 254, continued to cause problems and the set hinged on the point played with Sharapova leading 5-4.
Robson had a shot called out which she challenged and the replay showed the ball landing just one centimeter outside the line to huge groans from the crowd.
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Robson continued to produce the odd stunning forehand winner but Sharapova struck a barrage of piercing groundstrokes and served more consistently to surge into a 5-1 lead in the second set.
Robson refused to lie down, however, and she won two games in a row before Sharapova clinched victory in one hour 48 minutes.
"I don't think she had anything to lose in this match," said Sharapova who next plays Czech Klara Zakopalova.
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"I think that brings out the best in someone when they go out and they play free and they just go for the lines."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)