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Maria Sharapova Continues Oz Domination
By Nick Georgandis
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Photo Credit: Mark Peterson / Corleve
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 (January 21, 2012) She's isn't named Kim, Serena, Caroline or Petra, and it's been four years since she won a major title, but if you haven't noticed the way Maria Sharapova is playing the Australian Open, you haven't been watching the Australian Open.
Sharapova stormed past 30th-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 and into the fourth round.
In her first three matches of the tournament, Sharapova has lost exactly five games.
Against Kerber, Sharapova was dominant on defense, winning 59% of receiving points and breaking Kerber six times in nine opportunities, while only being broken once herself.
Overall, Sharapova won 79 points to just 47 for the young German. With the win, Sharapova has now reached at least the fourth round of five of her last six Grand Slam events.
While Sharapova was flexing her strength, seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva was coming up without answers of what has happened since her back-to-back finals appearances in 2010 at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Zvonareva bowed out of the tournament Saturday not with a bang, but barely a whimper, whipped by fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-6(7), 6-1.
Knocked out of the US Open quarterfinals by eventual champion Samantha Stosur, Zvonareva is just 9-7 since then and will take another big tumble in the rankings in two weeks after reaching the Australian Open semifinals in 2011.
The 23-year-old Makarova, like Zvonareva a native of Moscow, improved to 2-1 against her fellow Russian. Ranked 56th to start the tournament, Makarova improved to 6-1 in 2012 and is through to the fourth round of the tournament for a second straight year.
Zvonarea committed 37 unforced errors in defeat.
Also moving on early Saturday was former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over American Vania King.
Despite committing five double faults and a few more unforced errors than her unseeded opponent, Ivanvoic won on the strength of a superior return game to move ahead to a fourth-round showdown against second-seeded Petra Kvitova, who advanced via retirement agaisnt 27th-seeded Maria Kirilenko, leading 6-0, 1-0 when the Russian sat down with a strained adductor muscle.
Zvonareva wasn't the only Top 10 seed to tumble in the third round on Saturday morning. Ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli fell victim to China's Jie Zheng, 6-3, 6-3, propelling Zheng to the fourth round for the third time in four seasons.
Zheng will face Sara Errani, who made an amazing comeback against Sorana Cirstea, losing the first set 7-6(6), then blasting her opponent off the court to the tune of a 6-0, 6-2 thrashing.
The Romanian Cirstea was her own worst enemy, double faulting seven times and committing a whopping 54 unforced errors, nearly double Errani's 30.
It's an absolute breakthrough victory for Errani, who reaches the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career.
It's the second straight early exit for Bartoli, who was stunned here in the second round a year ago.
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