January 03, 2011
Maria Sharapova has had a last minute change of opponent at the ASB Classic.
While Britain's Heather Watson was beating Alberta Brianti in the final round of qualifying on court four, it was announced that fifth seed Anastasija Sevastova from Latvia had pulled out of the tournament with the flu.
It meant that Maria Sharapova's opponent Carla Suarez Navarro was now the eighth seed and would take Sevastova's place in the draw and will now play against Italy's Romina Oprandi tomorrow instead.
So now playing against Sharapova is Brianti, who was given another life as a "lucky loser".
This is because Brianti is the highest ranked player to lose in the final round of qualifying.
As Brianti needs to be given a suitable rest before playing again, Sharapova will now play in the fourth match on centre court rather than the third. Marina Erakovic and Sofia Arvidsson's doubles match against Simona Halep and Tamira Paszek has been moved up the bill and will now be the third match on.
Sharapova has never played against Brianti before and makes her path to the final even easier as Suarez Navarro is now in the second half of the draw and she was seen as the toughest opponent the tournament's glamour girl would play in her half of the draw.
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