Rain delays outdoor play at Australian Open

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.

After a far from ideal lead-up, Maria Sharapova said she was starting to put her injury worries behind her.

She was slow to get going with her serve rusty but she held on to go 1-0 in front. “No matter how much you train, it’s always different when you walk out on to the court. I’m just happy to finish off today and be able to get ready for the next one”.

The 92nd-ranked Bondarenko is playing only her second Grand Slam tournament since returning to the tour in 2014.

“When I’m aggressive and I have depth on my shots, it’s just good to have that variety to bring (players) in, to move forward myself”, said Sharapova, who next faces American Lauren Davis.

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 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.

The set second started as the first finished with the Russian dominant, immediately breaking to pile all the pressure on Hibino, who has progressively climbed the rankings since her WTA debut in 2012.

Sharapova’s numbers are a great reflection of how she played on Monday evening; she served exceptionally well, hitting eleven aces to just two double faults and winning 86% of the points behind her first serve. But it was only delaying the inevitable and she eventually succumbed. In fact, it is only her fourth grand slam appearance ever.

Williams gave herself an “A” for effort as she battled past Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the first round, easing concerns over an injured knee that troubled her in the build-up, but she did not need to try as hard against Hsieh.

The trouble-free performance was a boost for Sharapova whose latter half of 2015 was wrecked by injuries.

Interestingly, Sharapova has zero form to go off heading into the Australian Open, having not played a match during the Australian summer. The win keeps her on track for a potential last-eight clash against her nemesis Serena Williams, who beat her in the final previous year and has won every match they have played since 2004.