But if it doesn't happen in Saturday's final at Melbourne Park against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, she won't lose too much sleep over it.

"From the beginning of the tournament, you want to go a step further than you've done in the past," Sharapova said after her 6-3, 6-1 semifinal win over Jelena Jankovic today.

"That's always your goal, and your mantra going into a tournament. If it's not this Saturday ... if it doesn't happen, hey, it's life."

The way Sharapova is playing, she can afford to be introspective — six straight-set wins, including one that ended No. 1 Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak in the quarterfinals.

Mind you, she had a similar record in last year's tournament going into the final against Williams. After being taken to three sets in a tough first-rounder against Camille Pin, including 9-7 in the deciding set, she won her next five matches in straight sets.

Then she ran into Williams — unseeded and ranked 81 coming into the tournament — and lost to the American 6-1, 6-2.

Any thoughts she had about adding to her 2004 Wimbledon title and the 2006 U.S. Open went out in quick fashion.

"You plan it out somehow in your mind, but sometimes it doesn't always go as planned," Sharapova says. "That's the beauty of life and sport."

This year, she senses it will be different, thanks to the confidence she has acquired from playing in her fourth Grand Slam final.

On Saturday, she's up against an opponent with one previous final. Ivanovic lost to Henin in last year's French Open title match and is seeded No. 4, a spot ahead of Sharapova.

The two have plenty in common. Both stand over 6 feet and hit right-handed with two-handed backhands. Both moved from their home countries to train elsewhere — Sharapova from Siberia to Florida and Ivanovic from Belgrade to Switzerland.

Both are 20, born seven months apart in 1987. And they're all-square at 2-2 in career head-to-head matches — including Ivanovic's win over Sharapova in the French Open semifinal last year and Sharapova's victory over the Serbian player in a round-robin match at the WTA Tour championships in November.

In both cases, the losing player in each of those matches won only three games. If one is hot, often the other is not.

Both her next and previous opponents agree Sharapova is hot.

"Maria has had a good tournament ... beating Justine in two sets," said Ivanovic. "It's going to be definitely a very, very tough match."

Jankovic was impressed as well, particularly after Sharapova won the first five games of Thursday's match.

"Everything she hit, each strike was amazing," said Jankovic. "Even when she was late or whatever, it was all going in. She didn't make a mistake. She was just on a roll."

Hantuchova wasn't as complimentary of Ivanovic after her three-set loss, accusing the Serbian player of deliberately squeaking her shoes on the court surface when the Slovakian player was in her serving motion.

If Sharapova, whose loud grunting has been the subject of complaints by rival players since she came on tour full-time in 2003, has the same impression, it could become an issue in the final.

Hantuchova complained to the chair umpire, to no avail.

"I was really surprised with that," Hantuchova said. "I think it's unfair. It's a distraction to the server."

Ivanovic said she's done the same thing in her other matches here on the new Plexicushion surface.

"It's just the way these courts play," she said. "I just tried to move my feet, to return the ball, so it really was not intentional."

Sharapova, who has not had an opportunity to comment on Ivanovic's noisy shoes, played frequent junior matches against Ivanovic, giving the Serbian an insight into how the two play their game.