Sharapova sent packing by Dulko

LONDON – Former champion Maria Sharapova had her lack of match practice exposed by unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko who claimed a nail-biting 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Sharapova, ranked 60 after suffering with a shoulder injury but given a special seeding of 24 here, had battered Dulko for the loss of three games in two previous meetings.But the Russian struggled to find an answer to the world number 45’s scurrying array of groundstrokes and changes of pace in the sunshine on Centre Court.’It’s a great day for me I feel really happy,’ said the 24-year-old from Buenos Aires.’I didn’t play well in that second set but in the third I kept fighting. I was really nervous at the end, I wanted to finish there and not go 5-all, she’s very competitive but I am so happy. ‘The crowd were great, I hope they will be there for the next match.’Dulko is no stranger to Wimbledon upsets having beaten the great Martina Navratilova as a 19-year-old in 2004 and she showed little stage fright as she sealed the opening set in 35 minutes with a crunching forehand winner.Some of the matches were played as follows:Men: 2nd round:Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x9) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) – walkoverMardy Fish (USA x28) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4Novak Djokovic (SRB x4) bt Simon Greul (GER) 7-5, 6-1, 6-4Women: 2nd roud:Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x14) bt Urszula Radwanska (POL) 6-2, 6-4Nadia Petrova (RUS x10) bt Shahar Peer (ISR) 6-3, 6-2Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) bt Zheng Jie (CHN x16) 6-3, 7-5Ai Sugiyama (JPN) bt Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3Virginie Razzano (FRA x26) bt Jill Craybas (USA) 6-3, 6-0Elena Vesnina (RUS) bt Vera Dushevina (RUS) 6-3, 6-4. – Nampa-AFP

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