Maria pacing herself

Maria Sharapova on Sunday set an Australian Open record by reaching the quarterfinals for the loss of only five games, but she insisted she was pacing herself in the hunt for another major title.

The Russian second seed thumped Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-0 to set a new Open era mark over the first four matches, outstripping the previous record of eight held by Monica Seles (1991 and 1993) and Steffi Graf (1989).

Sharapova came close to matching the all-Grand Slam record of Mary Pierce, who dropped only four games en route to the 1994 French Open quarterfinals.

But despite her ominous form, Sharapova, still only 25 but with 38 Grand Slam appearances to her name, said experience had taught her that you only focus on one match at a time.

"You also have to pace yourself because it's a two-week event," she said.

"Over the course of those two weeks, it's important that your body and your mind is as good as it can be towards the end of the second week as it is in the beginning. You're not going to be as fresh.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 01/21/2013 page23)