Maria is through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne after a tough three set battle over No.14 seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany.  Maria won 3-6 6-2 6-3 in two hours and fifteen minutes.

Maria is making her fifth appearance in the quarters here and her first since 2008.

In the first set, Maria raced out to a 3-0 lead in eight minutes then slowly the momentum changed as Lisicki gets herself on the scoreboard by breaking Maria in the next game.  Lisicki then takes the next five games to take the set 6-3.

Maria stops Lisicki’s run at the start of the second set as she hold serve in the first game.  Both players hold their serves in the next two games and in the fourth game Maria hits a series of good returns to lead 40-0 on Lisicki’s serve, Maria squanders one break point but breaks on a blistering backhand down the line to lead 3-1.  At 5-2, Maria breaks again to take the set 6-2.

In the third set, neither player gives much away until the sixth game when Maria breaks Lisicki’s serve to lead 4-2.  The one break of serve is enough as Maria drops only one more game on her way to the quarter-final.  Maria wins the match when Lisicki hits the ball into the net.

In Wednesday’s quarter-final clash, Maria will face world No.56 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia who upset four-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams.  Maria has played the 23-year-old twice before and leads the series 2-0.  Here are the matches they have played:
Madrid 2011 R2: Maria won 6-3 3-6 6-1
Rome 2011 R2: Maria won 6-1 6-1

MATCH SUMMARY

Q. You’re obviously happy to advance in the tournament, but how happy were you with your game tonight?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, the first three games were good, then it went south for a bit, and then I got it together in the second. The third was a battle. No doubt, she played some really good tennis. I think the level was pretty high. You know, she had some opportunities and some breakpoints. You know, I came up with a good couple of second serves, you know, won that game, and felt pretty confident after that.
Yeah, obviously a few ups and down, but really happy to be through and a step further than last year.

Q. What part of her game gave you the most trouble tonight?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Well, she’s a really solid player. She has a big game. Big weapons. Serves really well. You know, started returning well, but that wasn’t working for me. Got that back. But, you know, returning’s obviously really important against her.

Q. How much do you think your experience counted out there tonight?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: In the match, during the match, you don’t really think about it. You’re really in the battle. So you don’t think about how much experience you have compared to her.
I’ve been in those situations before many times. It’s more about trying to carry the momentum, you know, in the situation, in the match, after winning the second set and hoping to continue that and improving the level, not worrying so much about experience.
Read the rest of this entry »

GALLERY LINK

Tennis > 2012 > Australian Open > Australian Open – 3rd Round