Sharapova has waltzed into the Australian Open final following a comfortable win over fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
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World number two Maria Sharapova has steamrolled into the Australian Open final with a comfortable straight-sets win over Ekaterina Makarova.
Sharapova overcame a nervy start, having to save two break points in the opening game of the match on her way to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
The five-time Grand Slam winner’s shaky opening to the set pushed her into gear, and she wasted no time stamping her authority on the game after breaking Makarova’s opening service game.
Makarova struggled to deal with Sharapova’s power hitting and could not find the form that saw her defeat Simona Halep in the quarter-finals.
However, the Russin gave away her serve in the seventh game of the set, opening the door for Makarova to mount a fightback.
It wasn’t to be, with Sharapova immediately hitting back to gain the advantage before she held her nerve to serve out the set.
The second set was all one-way traffic, with the 27-year-old capitalising on a number of mistakes from Makarova to race out to a 4-0 lead.
There was no coming back for Makarova, as Sharapova closed out the second set 6-2, thus booking her passage to the final.
Sharapova will now face the winner of the all-American clash between first-seed Serena Williams and teenager Madison Keys.
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