Maria Sharapova vs. Irina-Camelia Begu: Score, Reaction from 2015 Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova continued her march toward a second career Wimbledon title Friday as the fourth-seeded star defeated No. 29 Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round at All England Club.

The Russian cruised past inferior opponents in her first two matches of the tournament, and while she seemed poised to do the same to Begu after gutting out the opening set and taking a 5-0 lead in the second, the Romanian underdog didn't go down without a fight.

Sharapova didn't play an overly aggressive match, but as seen in this breakdown of the statistics, she excelled in terms of limiting mistakes and taking advantage of her opportunities:

Sharapova	Stats	Begu
11	Winners	14
15	Unforced Errors	20
64	Total Points Won	48
4/5	Break Points Won	2/3

Sharapova ultimately proved to be too much in the end, and she will now face the winner of the third-round clash between Zarina Diyas and No. 14 Andrea Petkovic.

Despite the 28-year-old veteran's seemingly easy foray into the third round, she entered her match against Begu feeling somewhat down about the way she played in a 6-3, 6-1 win over Richel Hogenkamp, according to the WTA Tennis website. 

"I didn't get a huge advantage off the serve or the return today—I didn't serve my best—and maybe I made a few too many unforced errors," Sharapova said. "But overall, once we got into the rallies, once I realized I needed to be a little more patient, then things started working a little better for me."

Sharapova's concerns seemed to manifest themselves in the first set as things were very even to the tune of a 4-4 start. After the five-time Grand Slam champion took a 5-4 advantage on serve, however, she managed to close it out by breaking Begu.

As seen in this graphic courtesy of BBC Tennis, serving proved to be the biggest difference between the two players in the first set:

While Sharapova seemed to be in firm control of the match at that point, professional tennis coach Martyn Etheridge pointed out her penchant for letdowns after taking the first set:

"

#Sharapova focus in the rallies is what is winning her the match..must kick her 2015 2nd set lull habit as #Begu feeds off streaks! #Wimby

— Martyn Etheridge (@MartynEtheridge) July 3, 2015"

The future Hall of Famer seemed to put that to rest as she reeled off five consecutive games to begin the second set. According to Andrew Jerell Jones of the Guardian, Begu let Sharapova off the hook to some degree:

Begu was on the verge of getting bageled, but the 24-year-old managed to scratch out a game on serve, and she then proceeded to create some nervous moments for Sharapova.

After breaking the Russian and holding serve once again, the score was suddenly 5-3. The Wimbledon faithful started to get behind Begu in hopes of a third and decisive set, but the always-clutch Sharapova locked the match down with a hold to end the run.

While Sharapova burst onto the scene by winning the Wimbledon title in 2004 as a 17-year-old, her results at All England Club have been mixed since then. She hasn't reached the final since 2011, which represents the only year she has advanced past the fourth round since 2006.

Grass initially seemed to be Sharapova's best surface, but she has evolved into a superior clay and hard court player. When her serve is on, though, she is capable of winning anywhere.

The Russian superstar's serve was largely on point Friday, and if she can keep that aspect of her game going in the fourth round and beyond, then she has a great chance to make a deep run. 

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