Maria had a very close encounter with Lucie Safarova to survive a long long match.
The world no.2 and defending champion was elated after this tough won to comment “I knew today was going to be difficult – I was playing a good opponent with tremendous results on clay, and in general she’s not an easy opponent to play against.
I needed to be ready. And there were some things I was disappointed with. I don’t think I took advantage of some of the shorter serves she hit, especially on her second serve that’s something I’ll definitely be working on. But no matter how long it took today, I’m happy I got myself through this match.”
Maria will play Ana Ivanovic in the quarters as the Serb defeated Nadia Petrova 6-4 6-3 after coming back from a break down in both sets.
Head to head is 5-2 for Sharapova that has won the last 4 in straight sets.
