Former champion Maria Sharapova was nearly at her best as she dismantled Tatjana Maria of Germany in her first round encounter at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Sharapova needed just 80 minutes to wrap up an easy 6-1, 6-4 victory over Maria, improving her first round record in the Majors to an impressive 48-3. With the win, the Florida based Masha bettered her win/loss record against the Germans to a dominant 26-5.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova, who won the Open in 2008, looked in imperious form as she came out all guns blazing to break her challenger’s serve in the second game of the contest. However, the German broke in the third game to put the match back on serve again.
But, the Russian diva took control of the rallies with her aggressive play, which eventually led her to dominate proceedings on the court against her opponent. Barring the aforementioned early blip, where she lost her serve, Sharapova was in complete control of the first set as she strolled through to a 6-1 win.
The second set began on a different note altogether as it was Tatjana who took an early 3-1 lead. But then the former World No. 1 woke from her slumber to claim the following four games to regain the lead. Despite the pressure mounting on Tatjana, she held on to her serve in the ninth game to force the Siberian to serve for the match. And Sharapova did serve it out in some style with an ace to seal her spot in the round of 64.
“It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been back,” Sharapova said in her on-court interview with the host broadcaster.
“I wanted to enjoy the moment … just wanted to get done.”
The 30-year-old superstar will clash with either Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia or the American Varvara Lepchenko for a spot in the round of 32 on Thursday.
