The sixth-seeded Czech dispelled any lingering fitness doubts with a 6-3 6-1 win over Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum in the opening match at Rod Laver Arena on Monday. Sharapova will play Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich next, who defeated Evgeniya Rodina in her opening round match.
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Her only stumble came while serving for the match when she was broken by Hibino, but Sharapova broke back in the next game to clinch the match.
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.
The world No. 3 will next play Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Sharapova was also told she’s Hibino’s idol and that the Japanese has posters of her on her wall. “It’s time to put her posters up there”, Sharapova said. 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.
But the 28-year-old, last year’s beaten finalist, was in fine form after hours on the practice courts as she handed a tennis lesson to Hibino, who was making her Grand Slam debut.
Sharapova had some encouraging words for her opponent. There were two more breaks of serve – five in total – with the only glitch for the Russian coming in the final stages. As a result, she began to mount a late-match fightback.
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.
“For a first Grand Slam performance, I thought she was there till the end”. That’s impressive. She never let in, never gave up.
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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.
