Polish teeen sparkles as Sharapova departs

NEW YORK: Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska spearheaded a teenage charge at the US Open on Saturday, dethroning defending champion Maria Sharapova in a stunning third-round upset.   

The 18-year-old felled the Russian glamour girl 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in a wind-affected morning encounter.    She was joined in the last 16 in the bottom half of the draw by two other 18 year-olds - Agnes Szavay of Hungary and Victoria Azarenko of Belarus - as well as 16-year-old Austrian prodigy Tamira Pascek.   

Sharapova had been a red-hot favourite to coast into the last 16, playing in the first match up on the Arthur Ashe Stadium centre-court.   

The second seed had won her opening two games, both played at night, for the loss of just two games and had spent just 101 minutes on court. Things worked out very differently against Radwanska.   

The Pole was not alone in the upset stakes as Szavay ousted seventh-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-4.   

She will next play Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine, a relative veteran at 24 who battled past another Russian, Maria Kirilenko, 6-2, 6-4.   

Radwanska admitted indulging in a bit of gamesmanship in trying to unnerve Sharapova by jumping about when she was serving.   

"I think she made many mistakes and double-faults so I think she was a little bit nervous," she explained. "I knew that she doesn't like it if somenody is moving when she is serving."   

Sharapova was nonplussed over how she had stood 2-0 up in the third set after winning eight games in a row and still lost for her worst performance in a Grand Slam since a third-round exit here four years ago.   

"You would have thought I would have had the momentum, a break up in the third set, but I just didn't feel that way today," she said.   

"I just wasn't there. It didn't quite feel like me out there.   

"But you have to give her a lot of credit for finishing the match and winning it."   

Radwanska moves ahead to take on 20-year-old Shahar Peer of Israel, who edged 13th seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) for a place in the quarter-finals.   

Bucking the trend of losing Russians was sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze, who scored a fourth straight win over India's favourite sportswoman, Sania Mirza, 6-2, 6-3 in 53 minutes.   

Chakvetadze will take on the youngest player in the women's draw, 16-year-old Paszek, who showed maturity beyond her years in ousting Swiss 11th seed Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), a player 12 years older then her.   

Sharapova's departure opened the door wide in the much weaker bottom half of the draw for two former champions - Martina Hingis and Svetlana Kuznetsova.   

Hingis, who won here 10 years ago, fell victim to the youthful tide sweeping through the women's tournament as she fell 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to Azarenka, another top junior attempting to cross the age barrier into the seniors. 

   The Swiss former world No.1 said the threat was plain for all to see.   

"You can see the new generation coming up. They're very dangerous. I knew it was not going to be easy. My mom messaged me. She said, Watch out,'" Hingis said.   

Kuznetsova did win her way through but she had the luxury of playing a 25-year-old in the shape of Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues and she comfortably came out on top 6-3, 6-1.