No. 14 seed, #16 Maria Sharapova of Russia, escaped in a three-set thriller against a determined, unseeded #38 Julia Goerges of Germany on Friday at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Final score: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Sharapova, who won the Australian Open title in 2008, was forced to dig in deep to pull through in a match that lasted 2 hours and 29 minutes. Georges had outplayed the former World No. 1 throughout the first set and pushed her to the limit in the second.
When Sharapova secured two early breaks to start the deciding set, Goerges refused to give in, fighting hard to get one break back and put the pressure on Sharapova.
But Sharapova kept her composure as she served out the match to move into the last 16.
It was Sharapova’s second close match in a row following her three-set win over Virginie Razzano in the second round.
“Like I said after the second round, it’s good for me to have a tough match. We had those really tough games where I had to pull it out and find a way to win, even though my opponent was playing really well,” Sharapova said.
“Today was a little bit the same thing, a little more up and down. You know, just unable to convert that break.
“But overall the most important thing is that I fought really well today and I found a way to play better.”
Sharapova is still looking to recapture the form that took her to three Grand Slam titles and the number one ranking in 2005.
She had a shoulder operation in October 2008 and has struggled to make an impact since then, although she said she was feeling better as the week went on.
Sharapova will now face No. 30 seed, #33 Andrea Petkovic of Bosnia in the 4th round.
