Maria Sharapova produced an impressive display to inflict a 6-0 6-2 defeat on an out-of-sorts Daria Kasatkina at the Rogers Cup.
It was billed as the battle of the two best Russian players on the WTA tour. But it quickly became a rout as the 21-year-old struggled to deliver anything close to her best tennis.
Nothing like that ever matters to Sharapova though. She just gets on with the job of winning matches. And her groundstrokes looked in excellent order as she romped to the first set in 35 minutes.
The Russian number two faced some resistance in the second set. Kasatkina held serve for the first time and tried to fight her way into the match.
However, the youngster’s challenge effectively ended when she was broken in a tight fourth game. She saved one break point with a good serve and two more by forcing errors, but eventually succumbed when Sharapova hit a brilliant forehand winner into the corner.
The older Russian saved a couple of break points on her own serve in the next game, but she did not have any further problems after that as she wrapped up the set 6-2.
“I came on court with a lot of respect for my opponent because she’s up and coming but she’s already established herself,” Sharapova said in her on-court interview.
“She’s 12 in the world at her age, which is an incredible achievement, so I knew that I had tough match ahead of me. I was focused from the beginning and I finished it that way.”
The Russian will now take on Caroline Garcia in the third round. Previewing the match, she said, “I lost to her the last time we played a few months ago in a long three sets, so I’m looking forward to it and hoping I can do a few things differently.”
Pliskova stunned by Bertens while Buzarnescu retires due to injury
Elsewhere in Montreal, Karolina Pliskova lost to Kiki Bertens for the second time this summer. The Dutchwoman, who also beat the Czech at Wimbledon, won 6-2 6-2.
Mihaela Buzarnescu was locked in battle in the deciding set against Elina Svitolina when she suffered a horrible fall and was forced to retire. The Romanian was clearly in a lot of pain and left the court in a wheelchair with her ankle heavily strapped.
Meanwhile, Ashleigh Barty set up a meeting with Alize Cornet by overcoming Alison Van Uytvanck 7-6(7) 6-2 and Sloane Stephens brushed aside Francoise Abanda 6-0 6-2.
