Maria Sharapova turned back the clock to knock out defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki in a barnstormer of a contest on Rod Laver Arena on Friday. Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2008, came through a lung-busting clash 6-4 4-6 6-3 hitting 37 winners on her way to a thrilling victory. Wozniacki raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but Sharapova raised her level and reeled off the next five games to grab the early advantage in the contest. The second set followed a similar pattern before Wozniacki took advantage of Sharapova’s sloppy serving late on to drag the match into a decider.
The Russian was not to be denied, however, as she closed out the win on her second match point in two hours and 24 minutes. She will next play local favourite Ashleigh Barty, who became the first player through to the last 16 with a 7-5 6-1 win over Maria Sakkari. Seventeen-year-old Amanda Anisimova burst into the big time with a stunning win over Aryna Sabalenka to reach the fourth round. The American teenager has been marked out for a big future for a while but this performance showed she is ready to make an impact at the latter stages of the Grand Slams right now.
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