PREVIEW: Sharapova on record pace

TENNIS - Maria Sharapova will play against Li Na in the semifinal of the 2013 Australian Open on Thursday. Sharapova has lost nine games in the first five matches of this tournament. This equals the second fewest number of games lost in a Grand Slam tournament for players reaching the final four (only players with five completed matches taken into account).

• In 1994, Mary Pierce set the record of losing only six games in five full matches before playing in the semifinal.
• In 1989, Martina Navrátilová also lost six games to reach the semifinals at the US Open.
• Both women reached the final that tournament, but failed to win.
• The record number of fewest games lost by a winner of a Grand Slam tournament (playing the full seven matches) is Navrátilová in the 1983 US Open. She lost 19 games, which means Sharapova can break that record if she loses no more than nine games in the final two matches.