MADRID, Spain –Maria Sharapova routed Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 on Friday at the Sony Ericsson Championships and avoided a semifinal matchup with defending champion Justine Henin.
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Ivanovic will face Henin on Saturday at the WTA’s season-ending championships, and Sharapova will play fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
“I don’t have to worry about who I play against,” Sharapova said. “If I play like today, I’ll be fine.”
Earlier, Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, the mid-tournament replacement for injured Serena Williams, beat Jelena Jankovic when the Serb retired in the second set because of a virus.
Daniela Hantuchova defeated second-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7), 6-0 to complete the group play.
Sharapova broke Ivanovic to open their match and never relented, keeping her opponent on the run with an array of crosscourt winners. She has been troubled by a shoulder problem, and this was the first time since mind-August she had won three straight matches.
Sharapova didn’t face a break point. Ivanovic, a first-time qualifier, had only eight winners to Sharapova’s 22.
“We’re both really big competitors and we both wanted to win this match and I don’t like losing to the same player twice in a row,” said Sharapova, who lost to the Serb in the semifinals at Roland Garros. “I really wanted to get my revenge whether this match counted or not.”
Sharapova, who won the title in 2004, and Chakvetadze will meet for the fourth time this year. Sharapova leads 5-0 overall.
Ivanovic and Henin last met in the French Open final. Henin leads their matchups 2-0.
Bartoli led Jankovic 6-1, 1-0 when the Serb retired.
“I have a virus and I’ve been sick for a couple of days,” said Jankovic, who finished 0-3 in her first appearance in this event. “I have trouble breathing and I’m suffering on the court and I can’t play my game.”
Bartoli bounced back after becoming the first player in the tournament’s 35-year history to lose 6-0, 6-0 the day before to Henin.
“It’s really a strange week for me,” Bartoli said. “Yesterday, I lost really badly and my wish for today was to play much better and have fun because it’s the last match of the season, but I feel bad for Jelena.”
Kuznetsova leads Hantuchova 6-4 in career meetings but fell to 1-3 against the Slovak indoors.
Hantuchova rallied from a 3-0 deficit to force the first-set tiebreak. She hit three straight forehand winners for her first set point and won on her second try after Kuznetsova hit into the net.
Hantuchova, a two-time winner this year, cruised in the second set.
Kuznetsova dropped to 0-4 in the round-robin event.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: Sharapova wins, Jankovic retires at Sony Ericsson
