Another step forward

No problem for Maria in 3rd Round at Australian Open. She defeated Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan in straight sets: 6-1, 6-1 after one hour of play.

After this 3rd Round match, Maria said: "I think I rebounded well. I had a good hit yesterday. I thought about what I wanted to try to achieve tonight, no matter who I played. I focused on myself more than anything else. Just tried to be a bit more aggressive and concentrate - I thought I did a good job of focusing well."

"She can be a tough, tough player to play against if you give her the time to change down the line like she likes to do, stepping down and hitting flat and low. If you give her the time, she'll do it."

In 4th Round, Maria will play agianst Shuai Peng of China. On head to head, Maria leads Peng: 4-1. 

"We've always had good matches. She's had great success in the last few Slams. She's a bit of an untraditional player with two hands on both sides - that's a little tricky - but I enjoy playing against her. She hits the ball quite flat as well, and deep. So I just have to be ready for those shots to always come back like that. And I'm looking forward to another good match-up."

The last match bewteen Maria and Peng was in 2012 at Roland Garros, where Maria won in straight sets: 6-2, 6-1.

GO MARIA !!!