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Former champion Maria Sharapova had her lack of match practice exposed by unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko, who claimed a nail-biting 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory in the second round at Wimbledon.

Sharapova, ranked 60 after suffering with a shoulder injury but given a special seeding of 24 here, had battered Dulko for the loss of three games in two previous meetings.

But the Russian struggled to find an answer to the world number 45's scurrying array of groundstrokes and changes of pace in the sunshine on Centre Court.

Dulko is no stranger to Wimbledon upsets having beaten the great Martina Navratilova as a 19-year-old in 2004 and she showed little stage fright as she sealed the opening set in 35 minutes with a crunching forehand winner.

Sharapova's frustration grew in the second as Dulko raced to a 3-0 lead but the Argentine suffered a temporary meltdown and her opponent raced back into contention with a run of seven straight games.

The two exchanged breaks in a tortuous decider which saw Sharapova punch the air after claiming every key point and Dulko somehow recover the composure she lost so spectacularly in the middle of the second set.

The Argentine stayed calm to seal victory on her nerve-wracking fifth match point and consign the 2004 champion to her second straight second-round defeat at SW19.

Dulko now faces a third-round contest against Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova, who dismissed Israel's Shahar Peer 6-3 6-2.

Serena Williams barely broke into a sweat during an imperious 6-2 6-1 win over Australia's Jarmila Groth as she cruised into the third round at Wimbledon.

The American second seed, chasing a third crown at the All England Club, was fast out of the blocks and never let the world number 69 settle into a rhythm.

Groth, who scored an eye-catching win over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in round one, avoided a second set whitewash with a late hold but a service return into the net gave Serena victory on her second match point after 58 minutes.

She will face Roberta Vinci for a place in the fourth round, after the Italian beat 31st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-4 7-6(6) with surprising ease.

Zheng Jie, the first Chinese player to reach the last four of a Grand Slam singles which she did as a wildcard in 2008, was beaten 6-3 7-5 by former world number five Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Hantuchova will next face doubles partner Ai Sugiyama, after the Japanese 33-year-old backed up her opening day victory over Patty Schnyder by reaching the third round with a 7-6 6-3 defeat of Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja.

French Open quarter-finalist Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, seeded eight, blew away Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-0 6-0 to set up a third round encounter with another Romanian, 28th seed Sorana Cirstea.

Cirstea, who burst on to the scene earlier this month when she downed Jelena Jankovic on her way to the French Open quarter-finals, was rarely troubled in a 6-4 6-4 win over India's Sania Mirza.

Slovakia's 14th seed Dominika Cibulkova, who also enjoyed her best Grand Slam to date at the French Open with a run to the semi-finals, is also through to the third round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Urszula Radwanska.

The Slovak will next fact Elena Vesnina, who won a battle of the Russians on court 14 when she took out compatriot Vera Dushevina 6-3 6-4.

In another all-Russian clash, out on court seven, 27th seed Alisa Kleybanova was sent packing after being beaten 0-6 6-4 6-1 by compatriot Regina Kulikova.

Kulikova will face yet another Russian in the third round after foruth seed Elena Dementieva eased past Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 6-1 6-3.

French 12th seed Marion Bartoli went through to the third round after beating Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito - who has caused controversy for her loud groaning during play - 7-6(2) 7-6(4).

The 2007 runner-up will face Francesca Schiavone in the third round after the Italian progressed with a 7-5 6-1 win over Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky.

Russian, Vera Zvonareva, wasted little time in booking her place third round with a 6-1 6-3 win over Frenchwoman Mathilde Johansson. The seventh seed, who struggled in the first round against Brit Georgie Stoop, will next face another Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano, after the 26th seed eased past Jill Craybas 6-3 6-0.

Reuters