Maria Sharapova and Sabine Lisicki are poised to meet in a thrilling fourth round encounter at the 2012 Australian Open

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Maria Sharapova’s start to the 2012 Australian has certainly been eye-catching. She’s worked her way into the fourth round having lost only five games. Three of these came in her 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Angelique Kerber, which amazingly was by far her most challenging match of the week to date.

When asked about the contest, the former world No. 1 revealed, “Yeah, this one became pretty tough in the second set. She certainly stepped it up, got that break back, got more confidence, started going for her shots. I never faced her before, but knew she's been on the big stage. Last Grand Slam she did pretty well. She's been on that stage, has beaten good players.”

“Yeah, I felt like I was aggressive enough,”  added the Russian. “In the first set I didn't give her a chance to do what she likes. In the second set, it became a bit more of a battle. But I felt like I stepped it up when I had to here and there.  It ended up being 6-2, so...”

Sharapova can’t, and doesn’t expect things to be so easy in the latter stages. The draw here has put her up against Sabine Lisicki in round four. Lisicki has a game that is well suited to hard courts, and her serve is about as ferocious as any on the women’s tour.  “Lisicki has a lot of power, big serve,” acknowledged Sharapova ahead of her next match.

Sharapova also spoke about the Australian Open being her first tournament of the 2012 season. “Yeah, I mean, I think you just have to take it as, okay, you go into an event, whether it's a Grand Slam or anywhere else in the world, if you're committed to playing that tournament, you have to be ready from the first match.”

“Sometimes you have to be realistic in terms of knowing that your level might not be exactly where you'd want it to be in the first round and you're going to be a bit rusty. But ultimately you have enough experience, you certainly played enough matches, it's just about hopefully getting through this one, getting better.”