Wimbledon - Sharapova Battles Through Tough Match

French Open champion Maria Sharapova struggled to put away Tsvetana Pironkova at Wimbledon on Thursday, but eventually managed to vanquish her opponent 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-0.

The match had been delayed for bad light yesterday, and for a while it seemed as if Sharapova would run away with it, but Pironkova fought back to take the second set.

Sharapova recovered, however, and took the third in convincing fashion.

“It felt like two matches in a way,” Sharapova assessed today. “Today I wanted to start off really well because I knew I was up a break. Didn’t go according to plan. Really served sloppy.”

Sharapova is a former Wimbledon champion, and is considered by many to be the favorite this year.