Williams, Sharapova Advance in Toronto

It was a good day for Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at the Rogers Cup in Toronto yesterday despite the heavy rain and lightning.

The weather caused the match between Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva to be postponed for more than an hour but Sharapova was able to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over her compatriot.  This marks the first time that Sharapova has made it past the third round at the Rogers Cup so I’m sure she’s pretty excited considering the tough year she’s had.  I’m sure she wants to move away from being ranked 49th as soon as possible.

“I thought it was a step up, definitely,” said Sharapova. “I had to (play) against somebody that I’ve had trouble against in the past who I usually play three sets against. It was good to finish the match in two, but I really had no choice. I had to pick it up… I think this is definitely a great result.  I’ve already played against three great opponents and I’m going to play another opponent tomorrow and you just hope that with each match you can raise your level and play better.”

Meanwhile, Serena Williams battled Alona Bondarenko and things appeared to be going well at first but then Bondarenko rebounded and gave Williams a little trouble.  In the end it didn’t matter since Williams won three straight games and won 6-1, 6-4.

“I was just trying to be perfect and then I just couldn’t get my serve in and got frustrated,” said Williams. “You know, I’ve been practising a lot on my serve, it just hasn’t been well, so I think in any case it can be frustrating.  I get really emotional on the court.  Sometimes I’m really into the game too much, and I’ve just got to (remain calm). I can’t help myself when I do that, I think it’s just something natural and hopefully it helps me. I think towards the end I was able to relax and just calm down and then just try to stay positive more than anything.  I thought that if I could keep up that form, I’m on my way into glory and today I didn’t play as well so hopefully I can get it back.”

The victory might have felt a little like revenge since Alona’s sister, Kateryna Bondarenko, sent Serena’s sister, Venus Williams, packing on Tuesday.

In the quarterfinals, Maria Sharapova will face Agnieszka Radwanska while Serena Williams will take on Lucie Safarova.

image: TSN