Maria Sharapova Feels the Heat in San Diego

The San Diego fans must be thrilled. They'll get to see some more of Maria Sharapova for the week, since the Russian managed to cruise past her 2nd round opponent in the tournament with a convincing 6-4, 6-1. Still, the match was not as easy as it seems. More, even if the encounter looked pretty unequal at the beginning - Sharapova was meeting 18-year old qualifier Vasilisa Bardina - the fans had plenty to see.

In the opener, Sharapova needed some more time to adapt. And it would have probably cost her the set if she hadn't woke up in time. She trailed her opponent 4-1 in the first set and the fans thought they were witnessing one of the major blows of the tournament. And they did, only not as expected.

Sharapova turned the clock and managed an impressive next 11 games. Actually, she only lost one of the remaining games, since she took the first set 6-4 and eased through the second 6-1. Even if worried at the beginning, the 4th ranked in the world looked pretty confident after the match.

"I felt pretty good after she broke me early. I felt like I made her play a little bit after that and when she was serving at 70 mph, I took advantage of that. I was moving well, seeing the ball well. She pulled all the tricks out of her bag except for the win. I don't know anything about her except that every time I see her dad, he walks barefoot. I think that's cool", said Sharapova.

The 2nd seed might have the chance to begin her US Open preparations with a tournament win. And this should be the best time to do it, especially since Justine Henin-Hardenne is taking a vacation from the Tour this week.

For the moment, the Russian joins Martina Hingis in the San Diego 3rd round, while the other favorites - like Kim Clijsters, Nadia Petrova, Patty Schnyder and Elena Dementieva are to play 2nd round matches later today.