Sharapova reaches 10th grand slam final

Published May 02, 2016

Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday.

Sharapova, seeded No. 2 behind Serena Williams, rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win over the 10th-seeded Makarova in 87 minutes.

The 2008 Australian Open champion double-faulted seven times but fired 23 winners and three aces in the win.

She has won 22 of her last 23 matches against fellow Russians and improved to 6-0 lifetime against Makarova, including 3-0 at the Australian Open following quarterfinals wins in 2012 and 2013.

Chasing her sixth grand slam title and 35th career win, the 27-year-old Sharapova moved on to face the winner of Thursday's all-American semifinal between Williams and Madison Keyes.

Sharapova is 5-4 in grand slam finals, including 1-2 at the Australian Open.

Makarova, 26, made her second consecutive grand slam semifinal. She lost to Williams at last year's U.S. Open.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/sharapova-reaches-10th-grand-slam-final