The American is spending her 153rd and 154th consecutive weeks at No1 during the two weeks of the Australian Open, the third-longest streak in WTA history after Steffi Graf’s 186 in a row and Martina Navratilova’s 156.
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Kei Nishikori had some trouble with his wrist, taking a medical timeout and losing the next set before recovering to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win Friday over No. 26-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
But Davis, the world number 103 began to swing more freedom, using the pace that Sharapova sent at her to direct her shots beautifully.
For the second time in three days, Novak Djokovic won a match at the Australian Open and was confronted by questions about match-fixing in the sport.
As for Sharapova, who won the third-round match 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0, she sticks to energy bars and gels for her on-court snacking. The No5 seed then thought for a moment and laughed nervously.
Despite the luxurious life her money can bring her, she said she still likes nothing more than hitting balls on a tennis court.
The 22-year-old is also very quick around the court and she usually relies on her strong backhand to finish off points.
He beat 19-year-old French wildcard entry Quentin Halys 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday night to reach the third round here for the 10th straight year, moving another step closer to equaling the all-time record of six Australian titles set by Roy Emmerson in the 1960s when it was amateur.
The Russian will next meet number 12 seed Belinda Bencic, who fought back from a set down to advance to the fourth round with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko. The victor will most likely play Serena Williams in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic took care of the man who ended Federer’s run in the third round here previous year, the Swiss star’s worst run at the Australian Open since 2001.
But Bencic, an 18-year-old Swiss phenom, rallied to win in three sets to set up a fourth-round match with Sharapova.
Williams faces another Russian youngster, Margarita Gasparyan, in the fourth round, while Sharapova will have to get the better of Bencic in order to reach the last eight.
“I don’t have a chat in the mirror, I think I get fined for that”, she said.
She added: “I have been doing it for a long time”. Young and promising American Lauren Davis snatched the second set in tie-breakers. In the second set she made just 52% of first serves winning 68% of the points.
“My father paved this career for me that I just keep following”, Sharapova said. I’m just kind of living it.
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“My mother opened up the world to me culturally, educationally”. I’m sure it’s going to be OK. “I love it every time I come here”. “I’ve been fooled too many times when I was a teenager”.
