Sharapova aims to avenge Kvitova loss

Russia's Maria Sharapova booked her spot in the last four of the Australian Open yesterday with a surprisingly straightforward 6-2, 6-3 win over compatriot Ekaterina Makarova. Makarova had stunned five-times champion Serena Williams in the fourth round but her performance against the world number four was a major letdown as Sharapova closed out the win in a little under 90 minutes. She will now get the chance to avenge her 2011 Wimbledon final defeat to Petra Kvitova after the Czech bounced Italian Sara Errani out in their earlier quarter-final encounter. "I thought she was going to play really well today coming off a big win, probably her biggest in her career," Sharapova said. "It was just really important for me to not give her much of a look at the open court." Sharapova, who won the last of her three grand slams at Melbourne Park in 2008, swarmed all over Makarova's weak second serve and routinely swatted them back faster than they came at her. The Melbourne Park crowd have given fellow primal screamer Victoria Azarenka a hard time throughout the tournament but they were more forgiving of the Sharapova shrieks, which assaulted eardrums anywhere in the vicinity of Rod Laver Arena. Averting danger Sharapova had too much juice on her serve for Makarova to return with any venom and the former number one faced just two break points in the match. One of those break points came with a 4-2 lead in the first set, but Sharapova averted the danger with an ace then crushed a forehand winner to take a three-game lead and broke Makarova again to seal the set. Makarova was more successful on her second break point early in the second set, keeping the ball alive long enough to bang a backhand across court and go 2-1 up. However, with Makarova unable to get enough first serves in, Sharapova pounced on the weaker second serve to break straight back and went on to win the next three games. Sharapova put the match away in the ninth game, forcing her opponent into another error from the baseline. World number one Caroline Wozniacki's exit from the tournament at the hands of Kim Clijsters means Sharapova, Kvitova or Azarenka will claim the top ranking by the end of the year's first Grand Slam. Sharapova said winning grand slams were her priority. "I think I've been fortunate enough to be in that position before. I think the girls that are trying to get that position haven't been in that position before," she said. No comparisons "It's a little bit different because I feel like I've experienced both things in my career, winning Grand Slams and being number one in the world. You can't compare the two. "I try to improve in order to win Grand Slams. The more Grand Slams you win, the better your ranking is going to be." Head to head: Women's semi-finals Petra Kvitova (CZE x2) v Maria Sharapova (RUS x4) Kvitova leads 2-1 -    2010 Memphis, hard court, semi-final, Sharapova won 6-4, 6-3 -    2011 Wimbledon, grass court, final, Kvitova won 6-3, 6-4 -    2011 Tokyo, hard court, quarter-finals, Kvitova won 4-3 — Sharapova retired Victoria Azarenka (BLR x3) v Kim Clijsters (BEL x11) Clijsters leads 4-2 -    2009 Toronto, hard court, round of 32, Clijsters won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 -    2010 Miami, hard court, round of 16, Clijsters won 6-4, 6-0 -    2010 Eastbourne, grass court, quarter-finals, Azarenka won 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 -    2010 Tour Championships (Doha), hard court, quarter-finals, Clijsters won 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 -    2011 Sydney, hard court, quarter-finals, Clijsters won 6-3, 6-2 -    2011 Miami, hard court, quarter-finals, Azarenka won 6-3, 6-3