Fourth seed Maria Sharapova has survived her toughest test yet at this year's Australian Open to fight her way into the quarter finals with a gritty straight sets win over Daniela Hantuchova.

Maria ground out a 6-4, 6-4 victory in 1hr 37 mins to ensure the 17th seed Slovak, who dumped defending champion Serena Williams from the tournament, did not repeat her giant-killing feat. The Russian was broken in her first service game and said she started the match sluggishly on a hot Melbourne night. "Today was probably one of the hottest days I've ever experienced in my life. I mean, it was pretty brutal out there," she said, describing the Australian Open as the most physically demanding of the tour's four Grand Slams.

"I just kept calm and tried to break her and tried to get the momentum back and it went my way in the end," said the former Wimbledon champion, who almost skipped the tournament because of a rib injury. But she declared she was now approaching peak form and was excited to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament she had feared she would miss. "Little by little I am," she said. "It was good today, I kept my composure when I was down at the beginning of both of the sets." "You just hope for the best and hope that you get better and better as the matches go on -- I feel like that's been happening.

"I feel like I've been improving with every match. Every match has been getting a little bit tougher and different." Hantuchova, 22, said she pulled a muscle in her left leg while racing to a second set lead and her movement was restricted when she resumed playing after having her thigh strapped.

But the former world number five, who is rebuilding her career after her ranking went into freefall in 2003, said she left the tournament feeling her comeback was on track after beating seven-time Grand Slam winner Williams. "I'm taking home some really nice memories, especially from the match against Serena," she said. "It was something very special for me. "Today I felt, again, that I was very close. But it just showed me the few little things that I still need to work on and improve. Hopefully next time I come back here, I will be even more ready."

Maria will next meet her compatriot, sixth seed Nadia Petrova, who defeated her in their last meeting.

Maria advances to third round

Women's No 4 seed Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round of the Australian Open tennis championship tonight, overcoming stubborn American qualifier Ashley Harkleroad 6-1 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Maria saved three set points in an hour-long second set to finally break down Harkleroad, eventually holding her serve in the 10th game then breaking the American immediately after to win their second round match. The Russian, who had been battling shoulder and rib problems coming into the tournament, now plays Zuzana Ondraskova of the Czech Republic.

Prince Announces Maria Sharapova Will Switch Racquets to the New O3 White

BORDENTOWN, N.J., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- This January, Prince Sports is
launching the newest member of its revolutionary O3 Engineered family of
tennis racquets -- O3 White. In an extraordinary move, the company announced
today that tennis superstar, Maria Sharapova, currently ranked number four in
the world, is switching to the new racquet.

Maria Sharapova and the new racquet
will make their debut at this year's Australian Open, from January 16 to 29
(http://www.australianopen.com).

"I have made the switch to the O3 White as it is much faster through the
air and allows me to generate more spin and power without losing control,"
Sharapova said. "It is a really stable racquet and I feel like I can go for
every shot and hit more winners."

"The fact that a player at the top of her game is switching to the
industry's hottest new technology makes a big statement about the power of
design and engineering to improve performance," said Doug Fonte, president of
Prince. "We are so proud to have Maria as part of our team. She's determined.
And her input has been invaluable as we've extended O3 technology to new
racquets in the line. We're looking forward to cheering for her through 2006.
She represents everything that Prince is about -- an integrity, fearlessness
and joy about the game that is inspirational."

Prince's Power Player goes beyond the Ordinary with O3 White
A Prince player since she was nine years old, Sharapova worked closely
with Prince to help refine the design of the new O3 White. "As soon as I
picked up the racquet it felt right," said Sharapova. "I played with it for
only a few days before I knew that O3 could make my game better. I'm happy to be working with such a great company. Prince has always been there for me; and now we're working even more closely together to help me win."

princetennis.com