Melbourne, Australia – Maria Sharapova dominated yet another opponent at Melbourne Park, this time crushing Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens, 6-1, 6-0, to gain a quarterfinal berth at the Australian Open.
The No. 2 seeded Sharapova, the 2008 champion and two-time Aussie Open runner- up, has lost just five games over her first four matches at this fortnight.
"It's really about keeping your focus and no matter what the score is, no matter if you're up," Sharapova said. "I didn't start the match really great. I was facing a different type of opponent today and I was making a few more mistakes than I would have liked in the beginning."
Her result Sunday set up an all Russian quarterfinal encounter with Ekaterina Makarova, a rematch from the same stage last year here. Sharapova won in straight sets in that match before beating Petra Kvitova and then falling to Victoria Azarenka in the final.
Makarova reached the quarterfinals by disposing of fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber, 7-5, 6-4. The 19th-seeded Makarova, whose best Grand Slam result came a year ago at Melbourne Park, overcame 29 unforced errors and five double faults.
Agnieszka Radwanska continued her perfect start to the year with a 6-2, 6-4 rout of former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. The fourth-seeded Pole won titles in Auckland and Sydney and has not dropped a set in 13 straight victories this year.
Up next for Radwanska will be 2011 Aussie Open finalist Li Na. The sixth seed from China beat Julia Goerges, the No. 18 seed from Germany, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.