Serena beats Sharapova at Stanford

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Serena beats Sharapova at Stanford

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Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-3 at the Bank of the West Classic Tennis Tournament.

30 July,2011 03:12 pm

Serena Williams signalled her readiness for the upcoming US Open with an authoritative 6-1, 6-3 over No.2 seed Maria Sharapova at the Bank of the West Classic on Friday.In a clash of two former world No. 1-ranked players, Williams put on a clinic with precision serving and a sharp ground game to get the better of the Russian.Williams semifinal opponent will be German Sabine Lisicki, who beat fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2.Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Japans Ayumi Morita retired after dropping the first set 6-1. Bartoli will meet eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-1, 6-1.Williams, playing in just her third tournament since winning Wimbledon last year, and her first on American soil since the 2009 U.S. Open, looked as good as she did when she topped the rankings.