Sharapova Inches Closer To Open Final

Maria Sharapova continued dominating her Tennis game Thursday during the U.S. Open in New York, triumphing over 17-year-old American Christina McHale with a 6-2, 6-1 finish. The Russian, seeded 29th overall, faces a tough round Saturday in her next opponent, (another) 17-year-old U.S. native seeded 70th, Georgia’s Melanie Oudin. (Pronounced oo-DAN, in case you’re no language artist).

Walking onto the show court with the same, glittery black-and-silver dress she wore in the first round, Sharapova traded early breaks with McHale, who lives across the river in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. But before the New York crowd could get behind the hometown girl, Sharapova snuffed out all hope. She won 16 of 18 points during one stretch and was never in real danger.

McHale said she saw Oudin win earlier in the day. Inspiring, she called it. But that only got her so far in her own match against one of the world’s most seasoned players. “Some of the rallies, it was, ‘Yeah, this is OK, I’m in there,’” McHale said. “And some of them were, ‘Wow, I still have a lot to work on.’”

Click the main pic for a larger version of Sharapova flexing her raw , beastly racquet power!