Maria Sharapova Blanks Beatrice Capra in Straight Sets

This year's Cinderella story for the American women at the U.S. Open ends two rounds and a few days earlier than it did last year.

Maria Sharapova defeated 18-year-old Beatrice Capra without dropping a game in Saturday's windy match, 6-0, 6-0. Capra, ranked No. 371 in the world, had a terrific run at Flushing Meadows, defeating Karolina Sprem in the first round and stunning 18th-seeded Aravane Rezai in the second.

Sharapova, the tournament's 2006 champion and three-time Grand Slam champion, was too powerful and skilled for Capra. Sharapova took control with an opening break and cruised.

"This is probably the toughest conditions we're going to get," Sharapova said. "But I think last year, it was a similar situation. Third round, quite windy. I had a young opponent who came out and played great tennis. Today, I wanted to make sure I came out, concentrated and was consistent."

The 23-year-old Russian generated 17 winners compared to Capra's three. Sharapova's serving and return game was terrific. She won 80 percent of her first-serve points and won 59 of the 88 total points in the match that lasted a little over an hour.

Botta: Wozniacki Wins Third Straight Blowout
More: Latest US Open Scores | Photos

Sharapova moves on to play Caroline Wozniacki, who has won 11 matches in a row. Wozniacki, seeded No. 1 in the tournament, has won three hard-court events already this summer and has only dropped three games through three matches at the Open.

Sharapova has a 2-0, head-to-head record over the 20-year-old Dane. Both matchups, however, came in 2008 when Wozniacki was ranked outside the top 25.

Capra, who was inspired by Melanie Oudin's fairy-tale run in last year's Open, comes up two rounds short of equaling Oudin's 2009 quarterfinals appearance. In 2009, Oudin reached the quarterfinals by defeating four big-name Russians -- one being Sharapova in the third round.

Capra was the youngest player left in the women's field. The 18-year-old who trains in Delray Beach, Fla., at the Evert Academy, advanced into the U.S. Open by earning a wild-card entry from winning a USTA playoff.