Maria into the fourth round at Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova defied threatening rain clouds and a gritty opponent to take the first set 6-3 in her third-round match against Ai Sugiyama.

The match was held up for almost two hours and played on Court One under leaden skies but the former champion, looking serene in her Swan Lake dress, was typically focused and determined.

The 31-year-old Sugiyama had only been as far as the last eight once in her previous 14 appearances at Wimbledon and there was a sign of the struggle ahead when she was forced to save two break points in the opening game.

Yet in the early part of the contest Sharapova was constantly frustrated by the nagging ability of her opponent to get the ball back.

Two superb passing shots helped create two break points for the Japanese woman in the fourth game but Sharapova was up to the task, aided by a 114mph serve.

The pivotal moment came in the fifth game when Sugiyama saved five break points. A perfectly-judged lob created a sixth and Sharapova put a forehand away to finally secure the break.

The 20-year-old Russian consolidated with a love service game and allowed her opponent just a solitary point thereafter, with Sugiyama double-faulting on set point.

Sharapova needed three sets to beat her opponent in each of their two previous meetings, the first of which was during her march to the 2004 title, and for a time today's match looked also looked like going to a decider.

The world number two dropped her serve in the opening game of the second set after an uncharacteristic lapse in concentration and it took her until the sixth game to claw back the break.

Sharapova, who twice successfully challenged line calls, levelled when Sugiyama netted a half-volley and broke again in the eighth game after her opponent was unsuccessful when challenging an over-rule.

The Florida-based Russian then squandered two match points before serving out for a 6-3 6-3 win to set up a potential fourth-round meeting with another former champion, Venus Williams.