Daniilidou is out of breath in loss

Eleni Daniilidou appeared to have a chance to upset top-seeded Maria Sharapova on Wednesday in the second round of the East West Bank Classic.

Her body didn’t give her that chance.

Daniilidou went stroke-for-stroke with Sharapova in the first set but retired in the second because of a respiratory illness that made it difficult for her to breathe.

Daniilidou, fighting back tears after the match at the Home Depot Center, said she desperately tried to overcome the illness, but she had to quit after losing the first set, 7-6 (5), and falling behind in the second, 3-1.

“I wanted badly to play against Maria, put up a great fight,” Daniilidou said, the words barely coming out of her mouth.

“It’s just so hard, of course. Maria’s just going very fast. It’s a different level. We are working for this kind of match, to play with top player and be in a good atmosphere, so I couldn’t really pull out.

“I wanted to step on court and do my best.”

The No. 2-ranked player’s victory seemed far from certain just minutes before Daniilidou retired. Daniilidou, down 5-4 in the first set, broke Sharapova’s serve after falling behind 30-0 and forced a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Sharapova double-faulted to give Daniilidou a 3-0 lead but rallied for the victory in the set.

“In the first set, I thought she was playing some of the best tennis she’s ever played against me,” Sharapova said. “She was hitting her backhand big, and she was moving well.”

Sharapova’s victory capped a day in which the top-seeded players returned to top form. After sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli, seventh-seeded Martina Hingis and eighth-seeded Dinara Safina lost Tuesday, the only upset Wednesday was Virginie Razzano’s three-set victory over 10th-seeded Shahar Peer.

Daniilidou apparently was stricken by a respiratory illness that has been affecting several players, including second-seeded Jelena Jankovic.

Jankovic, the No. 3 player in the world, defeated Shuai Peng, 6-1, 6-1, despite not practicing before the match. She said she has had flu-like symptoms since last week and was on antibiotics until Monday night.

“I did OK, but I know what I need to work on,” Jankovic said. “I need to get back in shape again. I need to hit a lot of balls to get my rhythm back and feel comfortable on the court.”

In the afternoon session, defending champion Elena Dementieva needed only 54 minutes to defeat wild-card entrant Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-0.

Fourth-seeded Nadia Petrova beat Lilia Osterloh, 7-5, 6-3, and fifth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova defeated Jill Craybas, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Third-seeded Ana Ivanovic beat qualifier Ashley Harkleroad, 6-4, 6-2, in the final match of the night.

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ken.fowler@latimes.com