Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams will meet in the final of the 2015 Australian Open after winning against their respective opponents in the Day 11 of the first Grand Slam event of the year in Melbourne, Australia.

Sharapova, who won the Australian Open in 2008, booked a ticket to the final with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory against 10th seed Ekaterina Makarova in their quarterfinal match at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night.

Feeling the pressure of being tagged as heavy favorite heading into the match, Sharapova had a slow start and needed to save two break points in the first game of the match, but the five-time Grand Slam champion managed to regain her rhythm from then on, en route to the win against her compatriot.

"I thought I played solid. I did everything I had to do," Sharapova said in a news conference. "I wasn't afraid for it to become a physical match. You know, I think it was important to really stand my ground in the first few games, which I did well, even though I was behind, especially the first."

On the other hand, Williams arranged a title match against Sharapova after scoring a hard-earned 7-6, 6-2 victory against compatriot Madison Keys in the quarterfinal showdown.

Playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, Keys managed to push the top-seeded Williams to the limit in the opening set. Williams responded to the challenge with a powerful service winner to win the tiebreaker, and sustained the momentum in the second set, enough for her to dispatch her 19-year-old opponent.

"I was impressed by her ability to stay in the match," Williams said of Keys. "You know, she never let up at all till the end. I think that is a really great quality to have."

Keys, who defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals to spoil a semis showdown between the Williams sister, had 12 aces in the match, but committed 39 costly unforced errors. Williams had 13 aces and just 16 unforced errors.

On the men's side, sixth seed Andy Murray booked the first semis spot with a 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 victory against seventh seed Tomas Berdych on Thursday morning. Murray will face either Novak Djokovic or Stan Wawrinka, who are set to collide on Friday at Rod Laver Arena.

Complete 2015 Australian Open Day 11 results are available on this link, while match highlights can be seen here.

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