Sharapova too much for 18-year-old Capra

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Maria Sharapova knows the story all too well: An unknown American kid shows up at the U.S. Open, upsets a seeded player, gains some buzz and belief, then gets a shot at Sharapova in the third round.

In 2009, that kid was Melanie Oudin, who beat Sharapova en route to the quarterfinals.

In 2010, that kid was Beatrice Capra and, well, let’s just say that Sharapova fared a little better this time around.

Overwhelmed by the stage, the circumstances, the 25 mph wind that knocked the neon lime visor off her head during a point, and — most of all — a solid Sharapova, the 18-year-old Capra didn’t win a game, let alone the match. Instead, 2006 U.S. Open champion Sharapova set up a fourth-round showdown with No. 1-seeded Caroline Wozniacki by blanking the 371st-ranked Capra 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“This was a new day,” said Sharapova, the first woman to win love-and-love at the U.S. Open in the third round or later since Martina Navratilova did it in the 1989 quarterfinals. “And what happened last year — I didn’t really want to go into the match thinking about it.”

On her very first serve of the afternoon, Capra nearly sailed the ball all the way to the opposite baseline. That might have been a result of nerves and the ever-swirling wind, which made the U.S. flag above the stadium flap loudly and caused four midpoint stoppages in play when debris rolled onto the court. Plenty of brown, concession-stand napkins and one plastic sandwich bag floated out of the stands; even two white towels made like tumbleweed.

“This is probably the toughest conditions we’re going to get,” Sharapova said.