THE SCOOP: US Open, DAY 2

Sharapova survives, now a real contender
Maria: "I'm never going to doubt my chances;" JH-H, Davenport also advance easily

By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA

Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova fought off a stiff challenge from American Laura Granville.

Sharapova did not play badly in the two-hour-plus contest. Granville played as well as she ever has and, in the last two games, the 17-year-old took her game took Wimbledon heights, bashing seeing-eye winners from inside the baseline and coming up with huge serves, including an ace and service winner, to close out the match.

Without question, Sharapova was erratic in the second set and looked seriously put upon in the third set, but Granville was keeping the ball very deep and moving her around nicely. Granville showed that she still has Top-25 potential and Sharapova was forced to display Top-10 stuff when the going got tough. After taking three difficult losses post-Wimbledon, this one had to boost her confidence.

"It's very important," Sharapova said. "That was very tough one and I'm very happy I pulled it out. But losses are part of the game and you have to learn from them. You can't lose control of yourself."

Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA

Lindsay Davenport, along with Lleyton Hewitt, won the first US Open Series awards.

Now the big question is, can Sharapova bring out the level she showed in the first set when she was dictating with her serve and first-strike groundies against the likes of Mary Pierce, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Justine Henin-Hardenne? She's serving as well as anyone is, but her return is erratic and her forehand is sporadic. But when she's controlling the center of the court, the other tennis royals will occasionally swoon. It's whether she can strike at their hearts consistently enough which will determine whether she will turn them into handmaidens.

"I'm never going to doubt my chances," Sharapova said. "I love to compete and I love the challenges of being a Grand Slam champion and coming into another Grand Slam. Of course, there are going to be a lot of expectations. Hopefully I can improve as the rounds go on, but if I don't do it this year, there are many years ahead. I don't want to make it a tragedy if I don't win."

JH-H, Davenport also advance easily
Defending champion Henin-Hardenne had a few moments when she was doubting herself against the next great Czech, Nicole Vaidisova, but brought out a well-stocked variety store of shots down 1-4 in the second set and recovered against 15-year-old qualifier 6-1, 6-4. "This kind of player is always hitting the ball as hard as she can and I need to use my game to play against this," Henin-Hardenne said. "With my slice and variations, I can oppose this kind of game."

Lindsay Davenport had a hiccup before taking down Lubomira Kurhajcova 6-4, 6-0. After notching her 19th straight win, she's never been more confident than she is now. Maybe she hasn't seen her draw, which contains Justine, who has beaten her four times in a row. "It's been an unbelievable lead-up and summer and came relatively unexpected to me. The comparison would be 1998," said Davenport. "I hope history repeats itself. I can be nothing but supremely confident."

Other women who looked impressive in notching Tuesday wins included Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova, and Russian teen Maria Kirilenko, who upset No. 25 Elena Likhovtseva 7-6 (3), 6-3. Venus Williams was shaky in her win over Petra Mandula.