Maria Sharapova looks sharp in rout over Christina McHale
It was not the greatest feeling.
“You don’t want to be that person,” she said.
She wasn’t, thanks to a focused effort from the start Thursday night that resulted in a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 17-year-old American Christina McHale.
Next up for the 29th-seeded Russian, a meeting with another 17-year-old American, Melanie Oudin.
Oudin started the upset trend in Arthur Ashe Stadium earlier in the day by defeating No. 4 Elena Dementieva. A few hours later, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic lost on that court, too.
“I made sure from the beginning that I was really focused and concentrating on my job,” Sharapova said, when asked how she avoided the same trap.
Walking onto the show court with the same, glittery black-and-silver dress she wore in the first round, Sharapova traded early breaks with McHale, who lives across the river in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
