Sharapova advances to 3rd round of U.S. Open

Russia's Maria Sharapova has advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York after defeating on Thursday Christina McHale of the United States.

MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Maria Sharapova has advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York after defeating on Thursday Christina McHale of the United States.

Sharapova, seeded 29, has easily defeated the 17-year-old unseeded American in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.

The former U.S. Open champion from Russia will now play in the next round against another 17-year-old American, Melanie Oudin, who earlier surprised the New York crowd by beating fourth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 3-6.