Maria Sharapova moved a step closer to winning her sixth Grand Slam title after advancing to the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open on Monday night.
Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2008, cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory against seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in their quarterfinal showdown at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
The second-seeded Russian had a strong start, breaking Bouchard's serve in the first game and holding her own serve in the second game to take an early 2-0 lead.
Bouchard had several chances to make a comeback, but Sharapova comfortably took the first set. Sharapova sustained the momentum in the second set, and never looked back from then on en route to the straight-set victory against the seventh-seeded Canadian.
Sharapova, who has only dropped one set in five matches in the tournament, had 16 winners against just 16 unforced errors - 12 less than the 28 unforced errors from Bouchard.
With the win, Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open and will face fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who also cruised to an easy win in her quarterfinal assignment.
Makarova, the tenth-seeded player on the women's side, scored a convincing 6-4 6-0 win against third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania in the first match of Day Nine at Melbourne Park.
Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up, had a chance to extend the first set, but Makarova managed to hold onto her lead, and sustained the momentum in the second set. The Russian broke Makarova's serve in the first game of the second set, and remained on target en route to a 6-0 win to clinch the set and book the first semis spot.
"It's a great feeling. She's a tough opponent," Makarova said of Halep. "She never gives up, she's always fighting and every point is very long. So I stayed solid and really in my game."
Halep, who was a heavy favorite heading into the match, had four double faults in the match, and also tallied 31 unforced errors against just 15 winners.
Makarova, who lost to eventual champion Li Na in the fourth round of the 2014 Australian Open, will make her second consecutive Grand Slam semis appearance. She also made the final four of the 2014 U.S. Open, but failed to advance to the final after losing to Serena Williams.
Makarova admitted after the match that she expects a tough semis showdown against Sharapova.
"I never beat her, so it will be tough," Makarova said in a news conference. "Definitely she's a great fighter. Like here on the second round, she almost lost, but she turned around. I'm looking forward."
