The 2008 champion Maria Sharapova battled back from a set down to beat German Sabine Liscki 3-6, 6-2 ,6-3 here on Monday to book a quarterfinal berth at the Australian Open.

Trailing 0-3 in the first set, 14th seed Lisicki won six straight games to win the set 6-3. Sharapova regrouped to win the second, before a tense contest entered a deciding set.

The turning point came in the third game of the third set when Lisicki had five break points but couldn't convert any of them. Three games later fourth-seeded Sharapova broke the German to gain a crucial 4-2 advantage.

Sharapova saved another break point to go to a 5-2 lead and brought up her first match point on Lisicki's serve. The German held and forced Sharapova to serve for the match, but she kept her nerve and claimed victory on her second match point.

"I had lots of ups and downs today so I was fortunate to finish on a high note," she said."Lisicki was a good opponent and playing with confidence. I'm happy that although I didn't play my best tennis I hung in there."

Sharapova will play against fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Serena Williams earlier.

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