Sharapova puts Serena spat behind her to battle to win in Wimbledon opener synusia

Maria Sharapova only wanted to talk tennis after coming through a testing opening match at Wimbledon Monday against promising young French player Kristina Mladenovic.

The Russian's pre-tournament spat with Serena Williams dominated the buildup to the grass court grand slam, but she did not want to add further fuel to the flames.

'I've said everything that I wanted to say about the issue. Wimbledon started. This is my work. This is my job. I'd really appreciate it if we move on,' she told gathered reporters.



https://cde.instructure.com/eportfolios/303561/Home/ZipDownloadMp3_Neil_Murray_Hindsight__Selected_Song_Album_Download
https://cde.instructure.com/eportfolios/303560/Home/DOWNLOAD_ALBUM_David_Sanborn__Here__Gone_Zip_Mp3
https://cde.instructure.com/eportfolios/303564/Home/DOWNLOAD_ALBUM_Eric_Clapton__Martin_Scorsese_Presents_Zip_Mp3


'Our job is to go out on the court and work and try to win matches and nothing else. That's the most important thing to me in my life right now.'

Read: Sharapova in stinging attack on Serena

Third seed Sharapova had been forced to give all her attention to her Centre Court clash with Mladenovic, taken to a close first set tiebreak.

Mladenovic, the 2009 Girls Champion at Wimbledon, continued to impress, but a single break for 2004 champion Sharapova saw her into the second round.

She will play Michelle Larcher de Brit after the Portuguese beat Melanie Oudin of the United States.

Second seed Victoria Azarenka, the winner of the Australian Open, beat another Portuguese player, Maria Joao Koehler, 6-1, 6-2.

But the 23-year-old Belarusian suffered a worrying injury scare in the second set, collapsing to the grass in agony while serving as her right leg gave away.

Read: Serena: I have apologized to Maria

The match was delayed for over 10 minutes while she had it strapped, but she recovered to earn a clash with Italian Flavia Pennetta.

But Pennetta's compatriot and fifth seed Sara Errani exited with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig.

2011 champion Czech Petra Kvitova was extended by American Coco Vandeweghe, dropping the second set on the way to a far from routine 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory.

Top seed and defending champion Williams gets her campaign underway Tuesday -- first match on Centre Court against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella.



Read: Serena: I have apologized to Maria Maria Sharapova only wanted to talk tennis after coming through a testing opening match at Wimbledon Monday against promising young French player Kristina Mladenovic. But the 23-year-old Belarusian suffered a worrying injury scare in the second set, collapsing to the grass in agony while serving as her right leg gave away. 2011 champion Czech Petra Kvitova was extended by American Coco Vandeweghe, dropping the second set on the way to a far from routine 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory. 2011 champion Czech Petra Kvitova was extended by American Coco Vandeweghe, dropping the second set on the way to a far from routine 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory. 'Our job is to go out on the court and work and try to win matches and nothing else. That's the most important thing to me in my life right now.' Read: Serena: I have apologized to Maria But Pennetta's compatriot and fifth seed Sara Errani exited with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig. Maria Sharapova only wanted to talk tennis after coming through a testing opening match at Wimbledon Monday against promising young French player Kristina Mladenovic. Mladenovic, the 2009 Girls Champion at Wimbledon, continued to impress, but a single break for 2004 champion Sharapova saw her into the second round. Top seed and defending champion Williams gets her campaign underway Tuesday -- first match on Centre Court against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella. 'I've said everything that I wanted to say about the issue. Wimbledon started. This is my work. This is my job. I'd really appreciate it if we move on,' she told gathered reporters. But Pennetta's compatriot and fifth seed Sara Errani exited with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig. Read: Serena: I have apologized to Maria The match was delayed for over 10 minutes while she had it strapped, but she recovered to earn a clash with Italian Flavia Pennetta. But Pennetta's compatriot and fifth seed Sara Errani exited with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig. Top seed and defending champion Williams gets her campaign underway Tuesday -- first match on Centre Court against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella. 2011 champion Czech Petra Kvitova was extended by American Coco Vandeweghe, dropping the second set on the way to a far from routine 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory. 'I've said everything that I wanted to say about the issue. Wimbledon started. This is my work. This is my job. I'd really appreciate it if we move on,' she told gathered reporters. Third seed Sharapova had been forced to give all her attention to her Centre Court clash with Mladenovic, taken to a close first set tiebreak. Third seed Sharapova had been forced to give all her attention to her Centre Court clash with Mladenovic, taken to a close first set tiebreak. 'Our job is to go out on the court and work and try to win matches and nothing else. That's the most important thing to me in my life right now.' 'Our job is to go out on the court and work and try to win matches and nothing else. That's the most important thing to me in my life right now.'

#newsupdatenow