Maria Sharapova showed that she's ready to be a Grand Slam factor once again, eliminating defending champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the Australian Open's fourth round.
Sharapova's victory on Friday, 18 January, was built on aggressive groundstrokes that gave her a 37-10 edge in total winners.
She is seeded only 30th at Melbourne Park, where she won the 2008 title for one of her five Grand Slam trophies but hasn't been past the quarterfinals since 2015.
Wozniacki was the No. 3 seed in Australia, a year after beating Simona Halep in the final here to claim her first major championship.
Next for Sharapova is a matchup against No. 15 Ash Barty of Australia, who won the tile at Melbourne Park in 2008 and has reached the final a further three times.
“I knew I was going to get a really tough match as she’s the defending champion of this event and it’s no secret she loves this arena. I haven’t played many matches in the last year, especially against top players and these are the ones I train for, so it’s really rewarding to win.”Maria Sharapova
Sharapova won her last Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2014 and has struggled to rejoin the game's elite since completing a 15-month ban for failing a drugs test.
(With inputs from AP and PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)