Pennetta shuts the door on Sharapova

Murray rallies from the brink; easy for Nadal

Sharapova was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the biggest upset of the tournament so far before Murray clawed his way back to defeat Haase 6-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 in the second round and avoid another early exit at the last Grand Slam of the year.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal strolled through to the third round when his opponent, Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, retired in the first game of the third set complaining of a stomach muscle strain with the Spaniard well in control, leading 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova, who won the US Open in 2006 but has not won a Grand Slam title since the 2008 Australian Open, became the biggest casualty of a tournament that has mostly gone according to the script.

The Russian third seed was one of the favourites to win the crown after winning a lead-up event in Cincinnati but made a whopping 60 unforced errors and served 12 double-faults, including two in the final game.

Pennetta's next opponent is China's Peng Shuai, the 13th seed, who advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Julia Goerges of Germany in an increasingly wide open women's draw.

Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, seeded second, beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4, 7-5 on Friday while ninth seed Stosur, a finalist at the French Open last year, outfought Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6, 6-7, 7-5.

Australia’s Samantha Stosur came back from a break down in the third set after squandering two match points in the second set.

Murray, who also won in Cincinnati, was in danger of bowing out after his Dutch opponent won a first set tie-breaker and took the next set to establish control.

But the Scotsman, who has played in three Grand Slam finals but is yet to win a major, assumed control, winning the next two sets and opening up a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Haase, who needed treatment to his back, fought back to level the final set at 4-4 before Murray broke his serve then held to seal victory.

Former champion Juan Martin Del Potro sailed through with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 win over his fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira.

American Andy Roddick, the 2003 winner, silenced talk about a passing of the torch by dismissing 18-year-old compatriot Jack Sock 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, while big-serving John Isner won his all-American match against Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Wozniacki sails through

World number one Caroline Wozniacki breezed into the fourth round with a methodical 6-2, 6-4 victory over unseeded Vania King under sunny skies on Saturday.

Wozniacki faced frequent trouble on her serve and was broken three times by the diminutive American during the one-hour, 36-minute clash on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 22-year-old King rallied from 2-5 to 4-5 in the second set but then lost her serve to end the match.
Reuters