Maria is looking too green on grass

First, she was required to struggle through a third round delayed for two days by rain and then sit around the Priory Club in Edgbaston to see if she could play again late last night in a quarter-final against fellow Russian Elena Likhovtseva.

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There is a real danger that the DFS Classic, the first grasscourt tournament on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, could be extended into tomorrow if the inclement weather continues. If the tournament is over by tonight, the finalists will have had to play four matches in two days.

This is hardly ideal preparation for Sharapova who, if she is to have any chance of repeating her Wimbledon title win of 2004, needs far more time playing on grass.

Judging by her erratic performance against Austrian Tamira Paszek in the third round, when she eventually won 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, she is not ready to mount a serious challenge in SW19 and may ask for a late entry to Eastbourne this week as a result.

With an injured right shoulder that has been troubling her for much of the season — yesterday she was continually flexing it in between rallies — Sharapova was troubled by a 16-year-old schoolgirl in her first year on the senior tour.

But Paszek is no ordinary schoolgirl.

Already she has been earmarked for stardom and, judging by her gutsy performance yesterday afternoon against a woman she idolises, it is not difficult to see why.

Paszek, who reached the Wimbledon junior final in 2005 and the US Open junior final last year, has already surged to No 55 in the world rankings and will prove to be a tricky first-round opponent at Wimbledon.

Sharapova discovered this for herself yesterday. She won a rain-interrupted first set 6-2 to suggest a comfortable passage into the quarter-finals,especially when Sharapova broke the Austrian in the second set to take a 4-3 lead.

Paszek, however, had other ideas. She broke back against the 2004 and 2005 DFS Classic champion in the eighth game, held her own serve then broke again in the 10th to take the second set.

Suddenly Sharapova's breezy demeanour darkened and her father Yuri started to bark out orders from his customary place in the stand. Sharapova knew she was in a tennis game.

To her credit she broke Paszek immediately at the start of the third set.

To Paszek's credit she almost broke straight back. The second game saw three deuces and one break-point for the Austrian until Sharapova prevailed.

Two-love became four-love before Paszek conjured up some final resistance, winning two games and creating two break-points when Sharapova was serving for the match.

The Russian came through but behind the smiles, waves and kisses to all four corners of the centre court were some worrying match statistics.

Although she banged down 11 aces, Sharapova topped this with 12 double-faults, while Paszek's 70 per cent on her first serves bettered Sharapova's 62 per cent.

"It was a great experience for me," a not too disappointed Paszek admitted afterwards. "It was a dream to play Maria,just as it will be a dream to play in my first Wimbledon in two weeks' time. I don't get nervous at all and one day I hope I can win Wimbledon, like Maria."

Sharapova, despite her scratchy form and suspect shoulder, has more chance than her young,vanquished foe this year.

Paszek, who pushed Justine Henin all the way in Doha, is a definite name for the future and judging by the confident way she took on Sharapova, a future which is just around the corner.