Rediff

Melbourne, Jan 24: Fifth seed Maria Sharapova blasted through to her second successive Australian Open final with a 6-3, 6-1 drubbing of Jelena Jankovic on Thursday.

Sharapova, thrashed by Serena Williams in last year's final at Melbourne Park, broke Jankovic at her first opportunity and never looked in trouble against the third-seeded Serb, who received treatment for a lower back injury during the match.

The Russian will face fourth seed Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the final after she recovered from a terrible start to beat ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 0-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Sharapova struggled for accuracy on her first serve but pounded a barrage of winners past Jankovic.

Sharapova raced out to a 5-0 lead but suffered an attack of nerves when serving for the first set, allowing Jankovic to reel off three successive games before she finally sealed it on her sixth set point.

"I think that I've been able to execute the things that I've been wanting to do ...and I've been able to do it consistently, not just for three, four games and then have a major letdown," Sharapova told reporters.

"You have to be realistic, because you know that ...you're never going to hit a winner on every single ball. It's just simply impossible.

"But you also have to try to maintain that level and really play your game and believe in yourself."

Ivanovic looked frozen with nerves as she dropped the first eight games of the semi-final but as Hantuchova's level dipped.

Ivanovic was far too tentative at first as Hantuchova, in her first Grand Slam semi-final, blasted winners on both sides to surge into a 6-0, 2-0 lead.

The Serbian finally held serve in the third game of the second set and suddenly the match changed as she became more aggressive, cruising through the second set.

Ivanovic saved a break point at 2-3 in the decider and games stayed on serve until the ninth when great scrambling gave the fourth seed the break and she held her nerve to serve out for victory after two hours, 10 minutes.

Jankovic, plagued by shoulder and leg injuries throughout the tournament, lost her first service game in the second set before leaving the court to receive treatment on a lower back injury.

She returned and held serve in the fifth game but could not match the power of Sharapova, who sealed victory when a Jankovic backhand sailed wide.