Wimbledon: Maria Sharapova overcame a second-set blip as she returned to the court for a second straight day to finish off a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-0 victory over Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria on Thursday to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
The top-ranked Russian led 3-1 in the second set when the match was halted on Wednesday because of bad light, but she was broken in the first game when play resumed. She then sent a forehand long to give Pironkova the second set but overpowered the Bulgarian in the decider, reeling off six straight games in less than 30 minutes.
Sharapova is coming off her first French Open title, which completed a career Grand Slam, and is looking for a second Wimbledon crown after winning here in 2004 as a 17-year-old.
In another second round match on Thursday, Sara Errani committed only five unforced errors in beating Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-1, 6-1 at Wimbledon.
The 25-year-old Errani, an Italian who has blossomed in Grand Slam competition this year, matched her best Wimbledon showing by advancing to the third round. She was the French Open runner-up this month to Maria Sharapova, and she's 12-2 in major tournaments in 2012.
She began this year with a career record of 15-17 at majors.
Playing the day's first match on Court 2, the 10th-seeded Errani erased all three break points she faced and won in 61 minutes. That was a grueling effort compared with Wednesday, when she played only one point to complete a victory suspended overnight because of rain.
The fourth day of play began with sunshine and temperatures heading into the low 80s (high 20s Celcius).
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