Centre court lacks appeal for Maria
Maria Sharapova feels something special is "missing" from Wimbledon this year, but has every intention of gracing Centre Court again on finals day.
The 2004 champion got her first taste of the showpiece venue without its roof when she disposed of stubborn Frenchwoman Severine Bremond in straight sets to book her place in the third round.
As the All England Club undertake a substantial redevelopment programme, it will be another 12 months before the famous arena is returned to something like its former glory and Sharapova said: "It is like someone took off the torch from the Statue of Liberty, or the arc from the Arc de Triomphe. It is my favourite court to play on, but it's definitely so weird, the atmosphere."
She added: "It's missing that little touch, missing that something that I think all the players love to see. It's not just about the roof - it's the whole feeling of it.
"I had just seen pictures of it, and didn't see it until I actually walked on court, so that was a little bit of a change."
The 2004 champion produced some superb tennis as she breezed through the opening set 6-0, before then having to maintain focus to eventually see off the challenge of the world number 37 in an hour and 17 minutes.
The opening game of the second set lasted almost half as long as the whole of the first had, with 22 points before Sharapova finally broke serve.
"It seemed like a huge part of the match," she said following the 6-0 6-4 win. "Although it is just one game, sometimes even when you lose that one, sometimes it can really change the momentum of the match."
