Maria
Sharapova knocked out defending champion Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open on Friday in a fierce three-set battle.
Sharapova's status for the year's first major was uncertain after the Russian sustained a thigh injury at a tournament in China earlier this month but the five-time grand slam champion proved she is just fine by dispatching the Dane 6-4 4-6 6-3 in two hours, 24 minutes.
Maria Sharapova celebrates after beating Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open.
The key of the third-round tussle was likely Sharapova overturning a 4-1 deficit in the first set.
Although Wozniacki claimed the second, she was broken in an extended seventh game of the third and cruised home in a contest punctuated by entertaining rallies.
"It was definitely a match that I looked forward to and when the draw came out obviously I had to get there first and so did she," Sharapova told reporters. "
But yeah I thought it was, as usual, as expected, a physical match.
"Didn't have to be in some ways, but I felt like even in the longer rallies I did a great job of winning those.
Put a lot of pressure on her. Those are the rallies that I think many years ago that she used to win.
I thought I did a great job of getting a higher percentage of wins in those."
A pleasant handshake ensued at the net two years after Wozniacki expressed disappointment at Sharapova being put on center court at the US Open in the wake of returning from a drug ban, while she featured on Court 5.
Sharapova said the incident didn't provide her with any extra motivation.
"I just really like winning," said Sharapova. "I'm just really happy and proud of the way I competed today and I'm into the fourth round. So that's all that matters."
That US Open was the last time Sharapova -- who next faces home hope Ashleigh Barty -- registered a top-five victory, ousting Simona Halep in the first round.
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Federer unscathed
Defending men's champion Roger Federer still hasn't dropped a set through three rounds, with the Swiss fending off 21-year-old American Taylor Fritz 6-2 5-7 6-2.
Nor has the Swiss' longtime friend and rival on court, Rafael Nadal, who thumped young Australian hope Alex de Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4.
It was the third straight round the Spaniard topped a local player but he will face a Czech, and a dangerous one, in Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.
Fritz's fellow American, Frances Tiafoe, though, followed up his upset of fifth seed Kevin Anderson by downing Italian veteran Andreas Seppi 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3 for a spot in the round of 16 at a grand slam for the first time.
