“I’m feeling really good, which is a positive”, Sharapova said courtside, when asked about her arm.
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Her 50th Australian Open win takes the fifth seed one step closer to a major milestone.
“That’s what we have to expect in Melbourne, and that’s one of the toughest challenges of this tournament”.
Meanwhile, defending champion Serena Williams had an easy day on Wednesday as she defeated Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-1, 6-2, in exactly 60 minutes.
Sharapova, having won the Australian Open once and being the runner-up a further three times is certainly entering the later stages of her career and will be keen to add another grand slam to her collection. A left forearm injury obtained in regular practice prevented the Russian from competing in the Brisbane event that many top players participated in before The Australian Open.
“(Playing) against somebody again I haven’t faced before, which is quite rare, but (I) felt like her game was a little bit unpredictable”, Sharapova said of the world No. 105.
“I haven’t played many matches in many weeks so it’s great to come out here and start my season at the Australian Open”, Sharapova said, reports the ABC. Kateryna Bondarenko notched one of her biggest wins since coming out of retirement after having a baby in 2013, beating two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-5.
Sharapova powered past Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-2, 6-1, to roll into the Australian Open third round and celebrate her 50th Australian Open main-draw victory. While they enjoy a massive, massive fan following from all parts of the world, Maria and Serena are not your cheerful players on court (the only time you can find them smiling is either they have won the match or making awful shots).
‘I felt really good and confident today about it’.
Sharapova’s confidence only grew as she claimed the first eight points and first two games of the second set to underline her dominance.
And espically after of an avalanche of upsets in Melbourne park- Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep all lost their opening round matches – Sharapova is hoping to restor some order. “She was definitely a tricky opponent but it was a good match for me to play someone like that”. I’m just happy to finish off today. It’s no secret who you’re going to be playing.
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Given the seesawing fortunes of this popular 28-year-old, that is some achievement, whatever the end result in this her 49th Grand Slam.
