Maria Sharapova swats resistance from Sabine Lisicki to qualify for quarters – Australian Open 2012
Slender-legged Russian, Maria Sharapova, made a remarkable comeback against the German competitor, Sabine Lisicki, to pound her in an epic three-setter in two hours and 15 minutes. The match was played at Melbourne during the fourth
round of the Australian Open tournament. Final scores were 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the Russian’s favour.
Sharapova was in terrific form right from the start, as she broke serve in the first game and successfully held her own serve to take 2-0 lead upfront. She broke again to triple the lead and make a strong impact at the start of
the match. The German didn’t bob down and came back with an emphatic six-game winning streak in the first set. She broke serve in the fourth game and that was the start of her breathtaking return to the match. She broke serve twice in succession in the following
games and successfully held her own serves to name the first set in style.
Trailing one set down, the Russian pounded back on her opponent to level the set scores at 1-1. She held her serve at the start of the set, so did her opponent. Sharapova came down with an onslaught on her opponent, broke her serve
in the fourth game and took the crucial lead that was sustained till the end of the set. The Russian showed sheer power and enthusiasm to fight back and hammer down Lisicki in the second set. With a successful breakthrough in the eighth game of the seconds
set, Sharapova headed to the sidelines squaring off the set scores.
The most agonizing game for Sharapova in the third set was her second serve game. It lasted almost twelve minutes and finally ended up in her favour. Before it, both players have held their respective serves. Neck-to-neck battle
continued in the final set as Lisicki held her serve to push the scores to 2-2. World number four won a crucial breakpoint in the sixth game and held her serve to mount a lead of 5-2 in the final set. The German couldn’t break serve and lost the match.
Sharapova plays against her compatriot, Ekaterina Makarova, in the quarter-finals.
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