Federer & Sharapova storm into Australian Open second round

A leg injury prevented Sharapova from completing a match in the three months between Wimbledon and the WTA Finals last season, but the Russian is regaining confidence after a close-season of recovery.

Sharapova, who pulled out of the Brisbane International with a forearm injury, appeared to show no side effects from the ailment in her 73-minute win over the Japanese player.

She might have been lacking in match play, but Maria Sharapova had little interest in extra court time as she dismissed Grand Slam debutante Nao Hibino 6-1 6-3 to progress to the second round of Australian Open 2016 on Monday night.

Speaking afterwards, Sharapova said: “It was just nice to get on court and face the opportunity of playing a first match”.

“I haven’t played many matches in many weeks”.

Next for the No. 5 seed is another first-time opponent, as she takes on world No. 105 Belarusian Aleksandra Sasnovich in the second round. “I’m really pleased how I was able to play”, said Federer.

Sharapova was the runner-up at the tournament past year, losing to Serena Williams in the final. Straight off the bat, the Russian made an emphatic statement of intent, breaking at love and consolidating the advantage with a hold at love of her own. In addition to this, she broke five times and hit 28 winners to just 21 unforced errors along the way, while Hibino struggled to stay in touch with Sharapova, committing 18 unforced errors and hitting just 11 winners.

The Russian world number five, victor of the tournament in 2008, looked in superb form as she lost just a single game in the opening set against her Japanese opponent.

The pair will meet in the round of eight if they advance to the second week of the tournament.

For someone who hasn’t played a competitive match in two months, there was also the added risk of being rusty, a normal thing that all professional athletes experience after a long layoff.

Asked over the weekend about the difficulty of the second week, Sharapova said, “I look at the draw and I know who’s here”.