Favorite Tennis Players Advance in Australian Open

Canberra, Jan 26. -Russia's Maria Sharapova and Spain's Rafael Nadal on Thursday advanced to the finals and semifinals, respectively, in the 2012 Australian Open Tennis Championships.Sharapova defeated Czech player Petra Kvitova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and reached her third final in this competition, in which she will face Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka.

The meeting will decide the new winner in the city of Melbourne on Saturday, a day when the leadership of the ATP rankings, currently in possession of Danish Caroline Wozniacki, will be known.

For Sharapova, this victory allowed her to fight for the title for the first time since 2008, when she became champion of the tournament, because in the 2007 edition she finished second.

In the game played just before, Azarenka won 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 over defending champion Kim Clijsters, reaching her first Grand Slam final.

In the men's category, Nadal gave an excellent demonstration on the court at the Rod Laver Arena, after winning 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7 / 5), 6-4 in three hours and 42 minutes.

This time, Nadal won 69 percent of effectiveness by his first serve, four aces and 36 winning points, while Federer totaled 57, 11 and 46, in that order.

This is the eighth victory by the Spanish tennis player over the Swiss player in ten Grand Slam tournaments.

After this success, Nadal will play against the winner of the game between Serbia's Novac Djokovic, number one in the ATP rankings, and defending champion Andy Murray, from Great Britain.  (Prensa Latina)