Tennis: New York joy sees Wozniacki prepare for Sharapova battle

Wozniacki, a beaten finalist here last year, thrashed Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei 6-1 6-0 in the third round on Saturday and has dropped just three games in three matches so far.

And Sharapova went one better by whitewashing 18-year-old wild card Beatrice Capra 6-0 6-0 to leave Venus Williams as the only American woman left in the draw.

Wozniacki, who has won three of her last four tournaments and now has a win-loss record of 17-1 since Wimbledon, said: "I think I've shown I belong where I am and I'm just happy to be through to the fourth round.

"For me, it's just about winning the matches. I think it's up to everyone else to judge what I've shown or not shown. For me it's just important that I've won these three matches pretty comfortably.

"It would be a great victory (against Sharapova) but when I go out there I really don't think too much about who is on the other side. I just want to do what I'm supposed to do out there on court, and I want to win.

"It really doesn't matter who's on the other side. I feel like I'm playing well, so hopefully I can just keep my roll. I don't feel the pressure. My time will come. If it won't come now, it will come tomorrow. I'm not afraid of that."

It was the second year in succession Sharapova had faced the new darling of American tennis in the third round in New York, the Russian having lost to Melanie Oudin 12 months ago as the 17-year-old went on to reach the quarter-finals.

But there was never any danger of a repeat result as the former world No 1 produced a ruthless display on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"Last year was a similar situation, a young opponent who came out and played great tennis so I wanted to come out and concentrate and be consistent," Sharapova said. "When you play someone on a good run who is young and eager it's always challenging because they go out and have nothing to lose. Sometimes they are the most dangerous opponents."