Women's fourth seed Maria Sharapova survived a scare before she booked her place in the quarter-finals. She needed five match points before overcoming her friend and fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 3-6 6-4 6-1.
Former Wimbledon champion Sharapova avenged her defeat by Kirilenko in Beijing last September despite producing 43 unforced errors.
"I was down a set but I tried to hang in," Sharapova told reporters following the battle that lasted over two hours.
"I wasn't playing my best, that's for sure.
"She put pressure on me and kept me on the defensive. It came down to a few points in the second set and I picked it up in the third."
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March 27th, 2006
Posted by: Marco
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