Kerber fights back tears after Sharapova romp
Former Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber fought back tears of happiness after disposing of Maria Sharapova in straight sets on Saturday night.
Kerber continued her march towards a second Australian Open crown with a clinical third-round victory over five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova.
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The 2016 champion made just seven unforced errors on Saturday, holding serve in all but one game in cruising to a 6-1 6-3 victory in an hour and four minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Kerber will face Taiwain's Su-wei Hsieh or Polish 26th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round.
The German 21st seed is the last remaining major winner in the women's field following a streak of first-week upsets.
If her campaign so far is any indication, she will be extremely tough to stop.
Kerber took the first set in just 29 minutes, displaying her trademark athleticism and forcing Sharapova into a number of erratic shots.
Sharapova had made it through the opening rounds without dropping a set, but the 2008 champion was outmatched by her Kerber, who evened up the ledger in their eighth career meeting.
Sharapova hit 10 of her 15 winners in the second set but a ruthless Kerber maintained the advantage to consign the Russian to her worst result at Melbourne Park since 2010.
Kerber now looms as a serious title threat, having seemingly overcome the form struggles that plagued her last year.
"I was so happy that we have 2018 and not 2017 anymore," an emotional Kerber said after the match.
"I really try to enjoy every single moment right now.
"Everybody who knows me, they know that I never give up and I am always coming back.
"I had a really tough off-season and I was working hard to be here and playing against the best players."
Kerber will now face Hsieh Su-wei, who knocked out Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 7-5.
"I'm not looking too much ahead. I just looking from match to match, day by day," said Kerber when asked about being the only major winner left in the draw.
"Tomorrow I have another day off where I will go on court and practice. This is what I'm looking forward to.
"I'm not looking too much at who is in the draw, who is not. I'm just looking at every single match."
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the night happened a short time after Kerber's win when Lleyton Hewitt kept his fairytale Australian Open run alive with doubles partner Sam Groth.
The former champion, out of retirement for his home tournament, combined with his fellow Aussie to seal a 7-6 4-6 7-5 doubles victory against Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer for a place in the third round.