Sharapova can take a little pain

CARLSBAD -- It isn’t easy staying healthy on the WTA tour.

As Maria Sharapova says, “God didn’t make the body to hit tennis ball after tennis ball after tennis ball.”

Sharapova’s right shoulder still aches more than she’d like but she is at the Acura Classic, the top-seeded player and safely into today’s quarterfinals after a decisive 6-0, 6-3 win Thursday over Tatiana Golovin of France.

Because of her injury issues, Sharapova just nodded knowingly when told that Serena Williams pulled out of next week’s JPMorgan Chase Open at the Home Depot Center. According to spokesman Michael Roth, Williams cited the thumb injury she suffered in a Wimbledon loss to Justine Henin last month for her withdrawal.

The Acura Classic was relieved of its second-seeded player Thursday when Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, blaming a cold for making her sluggish, lost to Maria Kirilenko, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

Kirilenko is one of five Russians who made it into today’s quarterfinals joining Sharapova; ninth-seeded Elena Dementieva, who upset Wimbledon finalist and fifth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, 6-4, 7-5; No. 3 seeded Anna Chakvetadze, who beat Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, 6-4, 6-4; and No. 4 Nadia Petrova, who eliminated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia, 6-3, 7-6 (10).

In an all-Swiss match, 11th-seeded Patty Schnyder knocked out seventh-seeded Martina Hingis, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

To end the day, Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, seeded 10th, beat No. 6 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-0, 6-3.

As anticipation builds for a possible Saturday semifinal between Sharapova and Williams, Sania Mirza of India, one of the other non-Russians left in the draw, smoothly moved into her own anticipated place against Sharapova in the quarterfinals.

After Mirza upset yet another Russian, eighth-seeded Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-2, the 20-year-old spoke of her building confidence and improved game.

“I am in better condition now,” Mirza said. “Two years ago I had a forehand and not much else. Now I have a backhand, I have an overhead, I have many shots. I have more strength, I have become more accustomed to being famous.”

Two years ago Mirza bopped onto the pro circuit. Her forehand brimmed with fashionable pop and she was greeted as a huge star in India after advancing to the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of the U.S. Open in her first season.

“When I first came out here,” Mirza said, “everything happened fast.”

After reaching a ranking of No. 31 in October of her rookie season, Mirza finished last year at No. 66. “Last year I wasn’t the new kid any more,” she said. “Players had figured out my weaknesses. So I had to find new strengths.”

Mirza is back to being ranked No. 31 as she advanced to the semifinals of the Cincinnati tournament two weeks ago and the finals in Stanford last week.

Sharapova missed most of the clay court season with her sore shoulder. As the pain increased her serve became more wobbly. Sharapova said that the injury is just “muscular” and that she has been assured she does no more damage by continuing to play.

diane.pucin@latimes.com