SERENA SETS A DATE WITH SHARAPOVA IN MELBOURNE
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World NO 1 Serena Williams overpowered Russian rising star Margarita Gasparyan 6-2 6-1 in the women’s singles fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
The defending champion relied on her trademark explosive groudnstrokes to stem the run of the Russian whom she also beat in the first round at Wimbledon last year.
Williams will next face Sharapova, who earlier beat Swiss prodigy Belinda Bencic 7-5 7-5, in the quarter-finals. It will be the rematch of last year’s final where Williams prevailed in straight sets.
