Maria Sharapova vs Venus Williams is scheduled to take place on Friday in the Australian Open 2013 third round. Two of the best women’s players in the world will come face to face early in the Grand Slam tournament thanks to Venus William’s low seeding this year. However, this is sure to be a tightly fought contest and could go either way. The match is scheduled to start at about 3 a.m. ET and can be watched online through free live stream (link provided below).

Sharapova comes into this third round tie in blistering form, claiming her second 6-0 6-0 victory of the week against Japan’s Misaki Doi.

Meanwhile Williams has also been solid until now and managed to overcome Alize Cornet of France 6-3 6-3 in a night match on Wednesday.

This meeting between Sharapova, a four-time Grand Slam champion, and Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, has all the makings of a classic. This will be the eighth time the pair have met against each other, with Sharapova winning the past four straight matches.

Many analysts have highlighted this game’s winner as a potential finalist in the tournament, given that both Serena Williams and defending champ Victoria Azarenka are in the other half of the draw.

Sharapova will be the slight favorite coming into this match up - she is currently ranked second in the world, where as Venus has fallen to 26th in the world right now after a series of injuries and ill health. However, she is on the rise again and has achieved her current world ranking after being outside the top 100 at the start of the 2012 season.

Sharapova has said ahead of this match: "There are certainly no secrets coming in that match-up. We've played against each other many times. Despite the fact she might not be seeded high or didn't play for a little bit, she's still a very experienced player and a tremendous athlete."

Sharapova vs Venus Williams should start at around 3 p.m. ET and can be watched online through free live stream by clicking here.

Here is a press conference with Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open 2013 earlier this week:

This is also a preview video of today's clash between Sharapova and Venus Williams:

Tags: Maria Sharapova venus williams tennis