Sharapova, Williams roll

CARLSBAD -- If you are a tennis fan within driving range of the La Costa Resort, you might consider checking your availability for Saturday afternoon. Got a ticket broker? Call him.

Barring something unforeseen, like television worshiping even more at the altar of Barry Bonds, the schedule for the semifinals of the Acura Classic will have Venus Williams playing Maria Sharapova.

If the results of Wednesday’s matches involving these two is any indication, plus the manner in which those results were achieved, this is one not to be missed.

Certainly, hamstrings pull and shoulder muscles tear. And certainly these two have played before, often on bigger stages than a Tier I WTA Tour event. But after Williams handled Virginia Razzano of France, 6-2, 6-4, and Sharapova did the same to Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, 6-1, 6-3, Saturday afternoon at the Acura started to look like something special.

Williams, of course, just won Wimbledon. She also has won here three times in a row, starting in 2000, and hasn’t been back since. That puts her winning streak on center court here at 17 matches.

Sharapova won last year’s U.S. Open, to go with her 2004 Wimbledon title. Leading up to that U.S. Open title, she won here, going through the field without losing a set.

The history is there. So are the reputations.

The new elements appear to be the level at which each is playing. If there are injuries nagging, or personal distractions intruding, it certainly hasn’t shown yet.

Williams batted the veteran Razzano around at will, hitting huge ground strokes when needed and serving her way out of trouble whenever it lurked.

“I feel relaxed, confident,” she said. “If I get down a break, I feel like I can just get it back.”

Sharapova batted the veteran Tanasugarn around at will, hitting huge ground strokes when needed and serving her way out of trouble whenever it lurked.

“I feel pretty good,” she said. “I served well, I thought I was moving well. I felt like the things I’ve been working on were going well for me tonight.”

Williams has been healthy for about the last six months and followed up her Wimbledon title with two wins in the recent Fed Cup competition in Vermont for the U.S. Sharapova hurt her shoulder in January, has struggled with that since and hadn’t played since the round of 16 at Wimbledon until Wednesday night.

And who beat her in that match? Venus Williams, in a 6-1, 6-3 rout.

Perhaps most significant in Sharapova’s win in the night feature Wednesday was the first game of the second set. After waltzing through the first set, 6-1, she hit two double faults and a wide forehand for love-40. The double faults were significant because serving has, at times, been Sharapova’s Achilles’ heel.

Not this time. On a night in which she hit nine aces and won the point 79% of the time when she got her first serve in, her high toss screamer, consistently clicking in the range of 105-110 mph, and a big-kicking second serve, were her friends.

At love 40, she hit a 98-mph ace; at 30-40 a 101-mph service winner, and on game point, a 104-mph ace.

Williams and Sharapova each have two more matches to win before getting to that dream semifinal.

“I want to get back to being No. 1,” said Williams, ranked 16th.

“Motivation is always there for me,” said Sharapova, who is seeded first here and is No. 2, but hasn’t won a tournament this year.

Williams is the lone American left in singles. Meghann Shaughnessy lost to third-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, 6-4, 6-4. . . . Barry Gordy, creator of the Motown sound and longtime ticket-holder for this event, was honored with the tournament’s Loyalty Award, with Sharapova presenting him with a giant blowup of the first ticket he bought more than 20 years ago. . . . All 6,500 tickets for the night session were sold.

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bill.dwyre@latimes.com