Maria Sharapova has declared that her impressive form at the Australian Open is due in part to her experience of handling pressure at the top level.
Sharapova extended her run of straight-sets victories with a 6-2 6-2 win over Ekaterina Makarova in the quarter-finals today.
The former tournament winner in Melbourne has only had her serve broken once in the competition so far and admitted that she has stuck to the same routine for the past week in an effort to stay in top form.
She told reporters: "It's all experience I go through routines that work for me.
"I go with the flow of routines. I go to the same restaurants where I'm familiar with the food. Maybe all of us have a little bit of that in us."
"I'm just so glad to be playing well and in the semi-finals again."
Sharapova will play Li Na in the last four later this week after the Chinese player overcame fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in today's opening quarter-final.
Liam Power
