Aus Open 2016: Maria Sharapova armed and dangerous at Melbourne Park

A victor here in 2008 and a three-time runner-up, she was always heavily favoured, although the departure of second seed Simona Halep to a qualifier on Tuesday showed there are no guarantees.

Sharapova has now won 46 of her last 47 Grand Slam first-round matches – her only loss in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 came at the hands of Maria Kirilenko at the 2010 Australian Open.

“It all started here for me, that is where I played my first match in a Grand Slam, on this court, and I’m still going”. Her older sister, seven-time major victor Venus Williams, was fined $5,000 on Wednesday for skipping a mandatory news conference following her first-round exit the previous day. And true to Melbourne conditions, the roof was again peeled back to reveal blue skies above at the completion of Sharapova’s one-hour, 11-minute demolition job.

Kei Nishikori of Japan reacts to a lost point during his second round match against Austin Krajicek of the United States during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia. “I’m just happy to finish off today and be able to get ready for the next one”.

Her sister, Serena, didn’t offer many clues after her second-round win over Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday.

The Japanese world number 56 managed to hold serve in the fourth game but that was as good as it got with Sharapova firing 12 winners to take the set in 32 minutes.

“He was a little surprised but it started working, so that was good”. But her first win at the tournament suggests Williams is ready to defend her Australian Open title this year.

“I retired because I had a baby and I didn’t really think to come back”, the Ukrainian said after the match.

No. 13 Vinci beat Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3 to advance in the opposite quarter of the same half of the draw.

Federer, playing his 65th consecutive major, advanced 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 over Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The fifth seeded Russian had to pull out of the leadup Brisbane International with a sore left forearm but was in full flight in a 6-2 6-1 rout of unseeded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, the early match at the Rod Laver Arena.

It was the first meeting between the pair and Hibino was at a loss on how to handle Sharapova’s powerful groundstrokes and pinpoint service game.