Maria Sharapova of Russia plays a shot in her quarterfinal match against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain during the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. AP
BRISBANE, Australia — Maria Sharapova moved into the Brisbane International semifinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Carla Suarez Navarro on Thursday, weathering a challenging opening few games before taking the momentum away from her Spanish rival.
Top-seeded Sharapova dropped her opening service game and then needed eight breakpoints before converting for a 2-1 lead. From there, it was straight-forward progress.
The reigning French Open champion has dropped just five games across her opening two matches of the season and next faces Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who came from a set and a break down to beat third-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Third-seeded Milos Raonic moved into the men’s quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 second-round win over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. Roger Federer was scheduled to play a night match.