Maria Sharapova is into the 4th round of the 2011 Australian Open and she looks to make another quarterfinal match in a Grand Slam.
Maria Sharapova and Andrea Petkovic will meet on Sunday from Melbourne Park in a 4th round match.
Sharapova, who missed the 2009 Australian Open after winning the event in 2008, has only made one quarterfinal in a Grand Slam since returning from shoulder surgery nearly two years ago. However if Sharapova can beat Petkovic on Day 7, then the Russian will be back into the late rounds of a Slam with some hopes of taking down the title.
Petkovic, of Germany, prior to her win over Venus Williams in round 3 (retirement) had only made one 4th round match in a major although that was at the recent 2010 US Open. She is a player that has come on more and more in the last year and she is good enough, if playing well, to threaten Sharapova in their match.
The two players have only met once before although the meeting was recent and it was on the hard court surface. Sharapova eliminated Petkovic from the round of 32 at WTA Cincinnati last summer in what was a very one sided affair (6-3, 6-1).
Petkovic is deserving of her place in the fourth round but she might not be able to win a match of this magnitude against a former world number 1 player. Roland Garros fans will remember that Petkovic had Svetlana Kuznetsova against the ropes last year at the French Open before the German melted down and lost.
Sharapova, if she keeps the double faults to a minimum and does not give her opponent free points, should be into the quarters where she would face the winner between Na Li and Victoria Azarenka.
