Sharapova hopes Serena's numbers don't come up

MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) If anyone paid any attention to the numbers, Maria Sharapova would be red-hot favourite to become the first Russian woman to win the Australian Open title tomorrow.

A grand slam final between a woman guaranteed to climb to the top of the rankings on Monday and the 81st best player in the world is as lopsided as it gets.

But when the 81st-ranked player happens to be Serena Williams, no one will dare write off the chances of the American comeback queen.

''It's nice to be back in a grand slam final. I'm playing really hard. I'm fighting really hard. It's awesome to be back,'' Williams said today as she prepared to launch her bid for an eighth major title.

Two weeks ago, no one gave Williams a chance of reaching the second week, let alone the final.

She had played only 16 matches in 2006. Until arriving in Hobart earlier this month, no one had seen her on a tennis court for four months as she recuperated from yet another injury.

Her trophy cabinet has not had any new additions since she won the last of her 26 titles in Melbourne Park two years ago.

Even Williams acknowledged: ''I don't think anyone thought I would get this far except me and my mom.'' She has proved all her critics wrong by charging to the final and she has done it in some style.

The 25-year-old has lived up to her 'dangerous floater' tag by claiming the seeded scalps of Mara Santangelo (27), Nadia Petrova (5), in-form Serbian Jelena Jankovic (11), Shahar Peer (16) and Nicole Vaidisova (10).

Now only Sharapova stands in the way of her becoming just the second unseeded woman to win the Australian Open crown in the professional era after Chris O'Neill in 1978.

ROCK BOTTOM ''If I play well, if I play my game, do what I can do, it's hard for anyone to beat me,'' she assessed.

''I got to make sure I'm playing well. I don't have anything to lose. That's always fun. I've had a lot of comebacks in this tournament. I went from rock bottom to 'hey, there she is again'.'' Sharapova will also be aware that every time Williams has reached the Melbourne Park final, in 2003 and 2005, she has walked away with the trophy.

The 19-year-old Russian however will not want to waste her opportunity to create history.

She already holds the distinction of being the first Russian woman to win the Wimbledon crown, defeating Williams in the final, and could replicate the feat in Australia.

After coming within two points of defeat in her first round match against Camille Pin, the U.S. Open champion has gone from strength to strength.

She stopped title favourite Kim Clijsters in straight sets in the semi-finals, proving that she is peaking at just the right time.

''I'm happy I could step it up against Kim, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the final,'' said the Russian.

''We've (Serena and I) always had pretty good battles, exciting matches. I definitely enjoy the fight against her.'' Having lost to Williams in the 2005 semi-finals here, revenge will taste extremely sweet if she can hold aloft the silver cup tomorrow.

REUTERS SAM KP1022