| Nadal, Sharapova ease into next round |
| DATA： 2008-06-26 |
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| Maria Sharapova of Russia returns the ball to Stephanie Foretz of France during their match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London on Tuesday.SD-Agencies |
In the day’s first major upset, fourth-seeded Davydenko was knocked out in the first round in straight sets by 116th-ranked German Benjamin Becker, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. It was the fifth time in seven years the Russian failed to get past the first round; he reached the fourth round last year.
“He played good, but I played very bad,” Davydenko said.
The Russian has been at the center of an investigation into suspicious betting patterns involving a match in Poland last year when he retired citing an injury in the third set against Argentina’s Martin Vassallo Arguello.
“Nobody can prove anything,” said Davydenko, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. “I think there’s no match-fixing in tennis.”
Arguello won his first-round match Tuesday, outlasting Ivo Minar, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Also advancing among the men was No. 8 Richard Gasquet, who beat Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Another Wimbledon women’s champion, 2004 winner Sharapova, advanced to the second round with a 6-1, 6-4 win on Court 1 over 105th-ranked French qualifier Stephanie Foretz.
“It was great to get out there and get a feel for the court,” the third-seeded Sharapova said. “It was my first match on grass this year and I did pretty well considering.”
A day after Roger Federer wore a custom-made cardigan onto Centre Court and Serena Williams donned a thigh-length trench coat, Sharapova made a fashion statement of her own. She came on court wearing shorts and a specially designed white tuxedo-style top.
“I’m very inspired by menswear this year,” Sharapova said. “Every year at Wimbledon I want to do something classy. I’ve never worn shorts before at a Grand Slam and Wimbledon is the place to do it.” (SD-Agencies)