Sluggish Sharapova fails to shine

The golden shoes took wing once more, if a mite sluggishly, bearing Maria Sharapova into the second week of Wimbledon in defence of the title she cherishes so. Under low grey cloud and in a chill wind, the champion swatted aside the challenge of Katarina Srebotnik, a sturdy 24-year-old from Slovenia who stands at 57 in the world rankings, winning 6-2 6-4 in an hour and a half.

The score was not true reflection of a contest in which Sharapova struggled to find rhythm on her forehand and consistency with her serve. "That was a lot tougher than it seemed," she said, after two laughably easy early rounds.

But - the mark of a true champion, this - the 18-year-old Florida-based Russian produced the big serves when needed and the crunching passing shots at the right stages. "I enjoy having these tough situations," she claimed. "Today, every single point I needed to find a way to win it." That hardly looked like being the case when Sharapova cruised into a 3-0 lead with a pair of service breaks in front of a half-empty No 1 Court, possibly because of a start earlier than had originally been scheduled.

The size of the task facing her was quickly made apparent to Srebotnik when, on the second point of the match, a howitzer forehand directed straight at her knocked the Slovenian girl off her feet. So straightforward was Sharapova's task that there was no recourse to the notorious two-level shriek, just a few mewling, whimpering noises to accompany the striking of her shots.

Srebotnik, white cap pulled low over her eyes, remained commendably unfazed by Sharapova's brisk start and promptly broke back, the first time the champion has dropped serve in this tournament. Though it could have been a risky option, she opted to trade hammer blows with the title holder, and did a lot of running, despite a heavily strapped left thigh.

As the quality mounted, so did the Sharapova vocal orchestration. The shrieks were soon back, resounding around the arena, as she attempted, occasionally in vain, to assemble her best game. One forehand even bounced before it got to the net, but at 4-2 she lifted her level gloriously with a change of tactics. Instead of a stream of hard-hit forehands, Sharapova threw in the occasional change of pace. Slightly flummoxed, Srebotnik was trapped into error, lost her serve and fell 5-2 behind.

Stepping up to serve for the set, Golden Shoes surged to 40-love. Three set points. All were cast away, the first on a failed drop-shot, the second on a double-fault and the third when Srebotnik delivered a smash which brooked no answer. Undeterred, Sharapova conjured a fourth set point with a forehand pass and clinched it after 44 minutes with another trademark forehand.

Whether or not signals had been exchanged with her brooding father Yuri was unclear but there was added snap and crackle about Sharapova as the second set got underway. No more tomfoolery seemed to be the theme.

Talking to herself, nodding vigorously, pumping her fists and growling "C'mon", a word not normally associated with her birthplace of Siberia, Sharapova achieved the vital breach in the fifth game, aided by Srebotnik's first double-fault and a limp backhand into the net.

Now it was clear the champion was on her way. She extended the lead to 4-2 with an ace and at 4-3 fought off a last-ditch counter-attack by the Slovenian. After a couple of forehand errors, Sharapova faced two break points. A break-back here would have lifted her opponent, but such a possibility was unthinkable. One point was saved with a superb drive volley, the next with her third ace of the afternoon.

Dismayed, Srebotnik immediately faced two match points on her own serve. That they were dodged was due more to Sharapova laxity than Slovenian brilliance, so, appropriately, it was left to the champion to serve out the match.

This was not easily accomplished. Srebotnik found herself holding a break point thanks to a finely angled drop-shot. At once Sharapova uncorked the big serve, blew away the danger and finished it off with yet another forehand winner.

The unforced errors totalled 21, but Sharapova was not unduly worried. "The serve didn't have as much penetration as in my previous matches, but this could have been because of the heavier conditions," she said, before adding: "I still got through it without serving great. I was able to serve well when I needed to." Sharapova's fourth-round opponent tomorrow will be Nathalie Dechy, the 16th seed from France. It is a contest which should hold no fears for her. "I remember playing her on grass a few years ago in Birmingham," she said. "But a lot of things have changed since then; her game, my game. It's going to be a new experience." Hopefully, a winning one.

Sharapova was as dismissive of criticism from Martina Navratilova as she had been of Srebotnik's challenge. The great former Wimbledon champion had said the Russian should concentrate more on her tennis and less on publicity, but the title holder was defiant, saying: "I am pretty much in control of the things I focus on, I feel I have balanced it really well. I'm No 2 in the world and I don't think so far anything has distracted me. If there was something I was doing off the court that I didn't enjoy, I wouldn't be doing it." What Sharapova is clearly enjoying at the moment is the defence of that title.