Maria through to the next round after great performance

Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Maria Sharapova crushed Chinese hope Li Na 6-0 6-2 on Friday to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.


Li, 22, was playing in her first grand slam event and was outclassed by her more experienced teenage opponent.



Maria closed out the match after 50 minutes on Rod Laver Arena centre court to become the fifth Russian woman to reach the fourth round.



The 17-year-old raced through the first set in only 20 minutes, with Li looking overwhelmed by the occasion as she sprayed 27 unforced errors.



Maria needed barely longer in the second set despite a brief fightback from Li when the Chinese player got on the scoreboard for the first time in the third game.



A ruthless Sharapova safely served out the match and claimed victory with a forehand winner on her second match point.



Sharapova will play 15th seed Silvia Farina Elia in the fourth round after the Italian crushed British qualifier Elena Baltacha 6-1 6-0. Maria has played Farina Elia only once before at the 2004 Telecom Italia Masters in Rome, which Maria lost 6-7 0-6.



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