Maria Sharapova stays perfect at Sony Ericsson Open

There have been some matches where I felt like little pieces start coming together," Sharapova, a Wimbledon champion at 17 and the world's No. 1 player as recently as 2007, said Monday. "When I came back after missing so many tournaments and matches, the first thing I just noticed was how those natural instincts just go away so much."
The instincts have certainly been there for her the past two weeks at the Sony Ericsson Open. Sharapova, seeded 16th and playing in the tournament for the first time in 2007, continued her perfect streak at the Sony by easily discarding No. 4 seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1 on Monday. Sharapova has not dropped a set in three matches, and will play No. 26 seed Alexandra Dulgheru in today's quarterfinals.
She also has an easier path to the final after Monday's matches. Caroline Wozniacki, the world No. 1 and the top-seeded player at the Sony, fell to No. 21 seed Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, the first time in three years that Wozniacki has failed to reach the tournament's quarterfinals. No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters played late Monday night.
Sharapova won almost 51 percent of Stosur's service points, keying her victory. She improved to 7-0 lifetime against Stosur.
"In the beginning I thought I made a few more errors on the second serves than I should have," Sharapova said. "I adjusted to that and I became more solid and started going for it a little bit more, and I felt more comfortable."
The top seeds in the men's draw fared better than their female counterparts Monday. Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Feliciano Lopez, a fellow left-handed Spaniard. And No. 3 seed Roger Federer survived a tougher-than-expected match over world No. 35 Juan Monaco 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Nadal, Federer and No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic will all play their round-of-16 matches Tuesday on stadium court. If Nadal and Federer can avoid an upset over their next two matches, they will face each other in the semifinals on Friday night.
"I've been in the semis with Rafael beforehand, so it's not something that's completely new to us," Federer said. "You know, the best players are in the semis usually."
Sharapova isn't looking ahead to the semis just yet. First she must face Dulgheru, a 21-year-old Romanian ranked No. 28 in the world who also has not lost a set this week.
Regardless, Sharapova, 23, is happy to be in the championship conversation again. She has won just two of her 22 tournament championships since her 2008 shoulder surgery, and has never won at the Sony despite two finals appearances. Ranked No. 13 in the world, Sharapova will enter the top 10 after this tournament. She dropped all the way to No. 126 in 2009 after her surgery because of inactivity.