Maria set up a semi-final showdown with world number one Lindsay Davenport after defeating Mary Pierce of France 6-4 6-3.



The 1st set was very close with many games going the distance and all Maria needed was 1 break at 4-3.
In the 2nd set Maria raced into a 4-0 lead, then Pierce took the next 2 games, Maria then won the next game but was broken when serving for the set at 5-2, Maria then re-grouped and took the next game to take the set and the match.


"I think I learn a l...

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova had to call upon all her reserves to beat Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 4-6 6-2 7-5 in the fourth round of the Pacific Life Open.



The world number three appeared to be cruising when 5-2 up in the third set, before the scrappy Zuluaga forced Sharapova into numerous errors, forcing her to use five match points to win the nearly two hour contest.



"It was a big battle out there," said Sharapova, who will meet Mary Pierce of France in the quaters....

Maria Sharapova stole the show on center court with an impressive victory over Dinara Safina in the third round of the Pacific Life Open on Monday
Third seed Sharapova beat her compatriot 6-2 6-3 in 78 minutes lasting match.



"After the points went a little longer, then the wind died down, I thought I was more consistent. I was able to hit one more ball in," Maria said.



In the fourth round Maria will play Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia. Maria has never played Zuluaga before.

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova led three seeded Russian women into the third round of the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday after beating American wild card Angela Haynes 6-1, 6-2.



After first-round bye, Third-seeded Sharapova won her ninth straight match following titles in Tokyo and Doha, and will next face Safina, who beat Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo to win the Paris Indoors a month ago.


Maria played Dinara Safina one time before and leads the series: 1-0

On Saturday Maria will play Angela Haynes of the United States for a place in the third round. This match is the second match at Stadium 1 and will not start before 10:00 AM local time.



Maria has played Haynes once before in last years Hurricane Relief Fund exhibition match in Florida and won in two sets 6-2 6-1.