General / Editor / 25 March 2007 /

In a mouth-watering third-round clash of the Sony Ericsson Open, Maria Sharapova will take on Venus Williams after both progressed with straight-sets wins.

Top seed Sharapova defeated Taiwan's Yung-Jan Chan 6-3 6-2 in a rain-affected match, as she looks to regain her top spot in the rankings after being overtaken by Justine Henin earlier in the week.

However, she is set to face a difficult task in the third round against Williams, who defeated Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-3.

Sharapova is being made the favourite at 1.73 by Betfair punters to progress and also remains prominent in the outright winner market, trading at 6.8 with only Henin shorter in the betting at 3.7. Meanwhile, the 2005 Wimbledon champion, Williams, is available to back at 2.32 to win the showdown with the 19-year-old.

After her match, Sharapova said she felt comfortable in her second round match and is looking forward to her showdown with Venus.

She said: "If you want to win a big tournament like this, you've got to play against good players. I felt like I was in control. With the break points she had, I was able to come up with good defensive play. But it's the first match. It's never completely there. I'm sure I'll get better."

Meanwhile, Williams said of her victory: "I've played night matches before. It was just a long rain delay. But it didn't really bother me too much. It feels good. I'm so ready. I've been training every day - and I'm tired of it."

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