Maria Sharapova is making a bid for the Australian Open Women's Singles title and standing in her way is fellow Russia, Ekaterina Makarova who is on fire. Both players meet at the quarterfinals and are fighting for one of four spots in the semis.
Don't be fooled, Makarova is ranked 19th in the Women's Singles, but she has been setting down the competition in both singles and doubles. Let's focus on her singles run though, since she'll be responsible for herself in the Rod Laver Arena against Sharapova.
Makarova recently defeated Angelique Kerber who was ranked 5th. It was a tough match that finished 6-4, 7-5, but Makarova pulled it off in two sets. In her previous match, she defeated Marion Bartoli (11), in three sets 6(4)-7(7), 6-3, 6-4.
Sharapova will be her toughest matchup yet.
Sharapova is the 2nd seeded women in the singles tournament. She has absolutely teared up the competition allowing her opponents to win a combined five games over her first four rounds of the competition.
There is no doubt that her skills will be tested today against Makarova. She will have to bring her A-game and forget the fact that her opponent is ranked 19th in the world. That ranking will surely go up as Makarova is only expected to get better. This is the second time Makarova will be making a quarterfinals appearance and ironically, she it came in the 2012 Australian Open.
It seems like Makarova likes playing in Australia.
Sharapova will try to win her first grand slam title since the 2012 French Open. Last year, she was the runner up at the Australian Open.
Without further ado, click here for the live stream for Sharapova vs. Makarova.
