Former world number one Serena Williams fought back from the brink of defeat to beat teenage prodigy Maria Sharapova and reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Williams avenged her defeats to the Russian 17-year-old in last year’s Wimbledon and WTA Tour Championship finals with a magnificent battling performance, saving three match points to win 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 in 2 hours, 39 minutes.
The seventh-seeded six-time grand slam title winner now faces either top seed Lindsay Davenport or French 19th seed Nathalie Dechy in Saturday’s final.
But the 23-year-old American had looked to be facing yet another defeat to Sharapova as the US-based youngster from Siberia served for the match in the 10th game of the final set.
But Sharapova, who had also served for the match in the second set only to be broken, squandered three match points in the face of a ferocious rearguard action from Williams, who clawed back the initiative to level.
The next two games went with serve but Williams was in trouble in the 13th game, and had to stave off three break points that would have handed Sharapova a vital 7-6 advantage and left her serving for the match.
But yet again the young Russian was unable to make it count, and Williams held to maintain pressure on her opponent.
Sharapova’s resistance finally crumbled in the 14th game and she netted to hand Williams two match points.
A forehand down the line clinched victory for Williams, who bounced in the air and screamed with joy as a disconsolate Sharapova could only look on. – Sapa-AFP