After advancing through to the semi-final stage of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year, thanks to a hard fought 7-6 7-5 win over fellow Russian Anna Chakvetazde, Maria Sharapova was forthright about how she got past the quarter-final stage on Wednesday.

"I was just very competitive. Against a girl like that (Chakvetazde) that gets a lot of balls back, it's just a matter of who can be a little bit smarter, who can get an extra ball back, who is a little tougher. I thought I did the job really well today," Sharapova said.

The 2004 Wimbledon champion also believed that her opponent's ability to play the big points as well as she did made the match a lot tougher to win

"I thought it (Sharapova's own game) was a bit scratchy. I mean, first set I'm down a break. I get back in the groove. The tiebreaker was a bit up and down also," Sharapova explained.


"We broke each other quite a few times. Then when I got a break, broke her in the second set, I felt like I just gave it to her on my serve, let her back in it."

Despite struggling to dish out effective serves throughout the match, and subsequently letting her 19-year-old opponent back on a few occasions, Sharapova still believes she can win her first Australian Open crown.

"I felt like I stepped it up in my previous round. Today, like I said, I didn't feel like my opponent was going to give me a lot of rhythm."

"Coming out with a win against her, someone who's playing good, (Chakvetazde) beat (Patty) Schnyder, someone who is playing with a lot of confidence, (the fact that) you can beat them in straight sets, definitely gives you a lot of confidence."

Chakvetazde conceded that the match was almost a case of survival of the fittest and that the stronger player would prevail.

"She is stronger. I guess she played very well. She's a great fighter. I think she deserve this win. I can just wish her good luck in semis."

Sharapova will take on Kim Clijsters for the right to play in the 2007 Australian Open final.