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Sharapova, who won 6-3 6-3, struck 24 winners
and five aces to stay on course for a title clash with
top-ranked Simona Halep after the Romanian dismissed Aryna
Sabalenka 6-2 6-2.
"I'm glad that I ended up being the winner of the match,"
Sharapova said in a courtside interview.
"I didn't play my best tennis and there's certainly a lot of
things to improve on in the next. The great thing is that I'm
through and have another chance to play tomorrow."
The five-times grand slam champion committed 22 unforced errors
in the match but stepped up her game at decisive moments of the
contest to get past her spirited rival.
Sharapova's only title in 2017 came at the Tianjin Open, after
she came back from a 15-month doping ban, and the world number
59 is aiming for a title-winning start to the year in her first
visit to Shenzhen.
"I feel like I'm having a nice little tour of China. It's my
fourth Chinese city in a few months," Sharapova added.
"It's obviously been a great welcome here. It took many years
for me to play this event but I'm really glad that I did."
Sharapova plays Katerina Siniakova next after the defending
champion beat fellow Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-2 6-2.
Earlier, fourth seed Irina-Camelia Begu had to work hard to
overcome Timea Babos 7-5 7-5 to set up a semi-final meeting with
her compatriot Halep.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha
Sarkar)
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