Sharapova advances in Auckland, Kuznetsova out
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By Greg Stutchbury
AUCKLAND (Reuters) - Top seed Maria Sharapova delivered an enigmatic performance but still advanced to the quarter-finals of the Auckland Classic with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Seventh seed Elena Vesnina withdrew from her match against Romania's Simona Halep with dizziness while trailing 0-4 in the third set, while Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro was beaten 7-6 6-1 by British qualifier Heather Watson.
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Sharapova followed Kuznetsova on to the newly laid blue Plexicushion courts and after going 3-1 down in the first set she blasted the 27-year-old Voracova away, barely losing a point in the final four games of the set.
The second set was just as erratic, with Voracova jumping out to a 5-3 lead before the U.S.-based Russian stormed back to win the next four games and book a quarter-final against Hungary's Greta Arn.
Kuznetsova, however, will make an earlier than planned flight to Sydney after she failed to capitalize on her opportunities against Peng.
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She romped through the first set but tightened up in the second to let the Chinese player force the second-round match into a decider.
Kuznetsova raced to a 3-0 lead in the final set but again failed to hammer home the advantage and instead Peng ground the 25-year-old Russian down, sealing the victory in two hours, 13 minutes.
"The only person I can blame is me because I was leading all the time," Kuznetsova told reporters. "The first set I won easy, the second set I got a break and when you don't take chances, your opponent will.
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"She played great today but I had so many possibilities. Even though I lost the second set I was leading 3-0 in the third and (it was like) ... I was stopping every time when all I needed to do to close it was take that one more step." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)