Maria Sharapova has defeated Alize Cornet to secure a place in round four of the Australian Open.
© AFP
The 26-year-old got the better of her opponent 6-1 7-6 (8-6) at the Rod Laver Arena in the third round on Saturday.
The third seed romped home in the first set, breaking her opponent at the first opportunity with powerful play.
Sharapova's dominance continued and soon the first set was over, 6-1 to the Russian.
However, the second was an entirely different set as Cornet found her fighting spirit. The 23-year-old held serve in her opening game and then broke Sharapova to move 3-1 ahead.
Sharapova, though, immediately broke back and soon it was 5-5. The set went to a tie-breaker, which the Russian edged 8-6.
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