Maria Sharapova powered into her fourth Australian Open final on Thursday, beating fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets in Melbourne. Sharapova made it six wins out of six against 10th seed Makarova, winning 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, and will face top seed Serena Williams in Saturday's final after she beat teenager Madison Keys in the other semi-final. Since saving two match points in her second round match with Alexandra Panova, Sharapova has not dropped a set and has lost just 15 games as she seeks to win a sixth grand slam singles title.
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Maria Sharapova beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2
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Sharapova will play in her fourth Australian Open final
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Sharapova is bidding to win her sixth grand slam title
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Sharapova will face Serena Williams in the final after she beat Madison Keys
'Playing another @placeholder and someone who was not necessarily the favourite coming into the match, I knew she would come out and play really well and I think I was ready for that, stood my ground and competed well.'