Maria, Amelie, beat rain, opponents

WIMBLEDON – Maria Sharapova just wanted it to end.

Raindrops were falling, her opponent was complaining, and Sharapova suddenly encountered some trouble as she tried to close out her third-round match at Wimbledon. Showers wiped out most action at the All England Club on Saturday, and it was drizzling when 2004 champion Sharapova finally finished her 6-3, 6-3 victory despite the No.26-seeded Ai Sugiyama’s animated protests it was too slick to play.Well, for her, anyway.There was, not surprisingly, a different take on things from Sugiyama, whose best showing in 15 Wimbledon appearances ended with a loss to Sharapova in the quarterfinals three years ago.In the only other singles match completed, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo beat No.28 Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes to reach the fourth round.Seven men’s and women’s singles matches were suspended in progress, and seven men’s matches were postponed entirely until Monday – when the forecast calls for more precipitation.The two-week tournament traditionally takes the middle Sunday off, and while rain-created backlogs in the past forced organizers to schedule matches on that day most recently in 2004 the referee’s office announced Saturday that wouldn’t be necessary this year, even though five of six days so far have been interrupted.So three-time champion Venus Williams could have not one but two sleepless nights pondering her second-set struggles against 71st-ranked Akiko Morigami of Japan.Williams won the first set 6-2 but was trailing 1-4 in the next when play was halted.The winner meets Sharapova for a quarterfinal berth.In other matches carried over to Monday, French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, No.5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.11 Nadia Petrova, No.12 Elena Dementieva and No.14 Nicole Vaidisova each was up a set.No.7 Tomas Berdych took the first set of the only men’s match that got under way.Among those who didn’t play a point in their third-round matches Saturday: three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt.While the starts of her match and Sharapova’s were delayed about two hours, and action on smaller courts was pushed back twice as long, rain sent umbrella-toting spectators scurrying to souvenir shops.With no competition, a family of five ducks _ a mother and her ducklings hung out at Court 5 until an animal care organization was summoned to move them to a sanctuary south of London.Sugiyama was rather disappointed by the way things wrapped up against Sharapova on Court 1.With Sharapova serving at 5-3, 40-love, she wasted her first match point by double-faulting.Still one point from victory, the reigning U.S.Open champion ended an 11-stroke exchange by hitting a backhand that a line judge called long.Chair umpire Lynn Welch overruled and a replay showed the ball was clearly in.Before they replayed the point, Sugiyama complained to Welch that the match should be suspended.Welch climbed down to check the turf, then ordered that they continue.Eager to finish, Sharapova blew another chance by putting a forehand into the net, but converted her third match point with a forehand that gave her a 30-8 edge in winners.As the tarp was pulled over the court, Sharapova hopped out of harm’s way, and Sugiyama resumed her discussion with Welch.The 6-foot-2 Russian served as well as she has all tournament, winning 34 of 47 points on her serve.It was a strong sign of improvement in her troublesome right shoulder, which needs about 2œ hours of treatment each day, including acupuncture, massage and ice.Mauresmo’s serve was right on target, too: She hit 11 aces.Playing serve-and-volley tennis more than half the time, she won the point on 10 of 11 trips to the net in the first set.Nampa-APShowers wiped out most action at the All England Club on Saturday, and it was drizzling when 2004 champion Sharapova finally finished her 6-3, 6-3 victory despite the No.26-seeded Ai Sugiyama’s animated protests it was too slick to play.Well, for her, anyway.There was, not surprisingly, a different take on things from Sugiyama, whose best showing in 15 Wimbledon appearances ended with a loss to Sharapova in the quarterfinals three years ago.In the only other singles match completed, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo beat No.28 Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes to reach the fourth round.Seven men’s and women’s singles matches were suspended in progress, and seven men’s matches were postponed entirely until Monday – when the forecast calls for more precipitation.The two-week tournament traditionally takes the middle Sunday off, and while rain-created backlogs in the past forced organizers to schedule matches on that day most recently in 2004 the referee’s office announced Saturday that wouldn’t be necessary this year, even though five of six days so far have been interrupted.So three-time champion Venus Williams could have not one but two sleepless nights pondering her second-set struggles against 71st-ranked Akiko Morigami of Japan.Williams won the first set 6-2 but was trailing 1-4 in the next when play was halted.The winner meets Sharapova for a quarterfinal berth.In other matches carried over to Monday, French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, No.5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.11 Nadia Petrova, No.12 Elena Dementieva and No.14 Nicole Vaidisova each was up a set.No.7 Tomas Berdych took the first set of the only men’s match that got under way.Among those who didn’t play a point in their third-round matches Saturday: three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt.While the starts of her match and Sharapova’s were delayed about two hours, and action on smaller courts was pushed back twice as long, rain sent umbrella-toting spectators scurrying to souvenir shops.With no competition, a family of five ducks _ a mother and her ducklings hung out at Court 5 until an animal care organization was summoned to move them to a sanctuary south of London.Sugiyama was rather disappointed by the way things wrapped up against Sharapova on Court 1.With Sharapova serving at 5-3, 40-love, she wasted her first match point by double-faulting.Still one point from victory, the reigning U.S.Open champion ended an 11-stroke exchange by hitting a backhand that a line judge called long.Chair umpire Lynn Welch overruled and a replay showed the ball was clearly in.Before they replayed the point, Sugiyama complained to Welch that the match should be suspended.Welch climbed down to check the turf, then ordered that they continue.Eager to finish, Sharapova blew another chance by putting a forehand into the net, but converted her third match point with a forehand that gave her a 30-8 edge in winners.As the tarp was pulled over the court, Sharapova hopped out of harm’s way, and Sugiyama resumed her discussion with Welch.The 6-foot-2 Russian served as well as she has all tournament, winning 34 of 47 points on her serve.It was a strong sign of improvement in her troublesome right shoulder, which needs about 2œ hours of treatment each day, including acupuncture, massage and ice.Mauresmo’s serve was right on target, too: She hit 11 aces.Playing serve-and-volley tennis more than half the time, she won the point on 10 of 11 trips to the net in the first set.Nampa-AP