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Maria Sharapova wins Aussie opener

Jan 14, 2013 10:51 AM ETESPN.com news services
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Maria Sharapova finished her first match of the year in 55 minutes Monday, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Olga Puchkova to start proceedings on center court at the Australian Open without showing any signs of trouble with her sore right shoulder.

The No. 2-ranked Sharapova, who lost the final to Victoria Azarenka here last year before going on to win the French Open, faced only two break points in the match, and she saved both of those in the first game.

Then she went on a 12-game roll that earned her a second "double bagel" inside a year.

Ford: Venus Back in Form

In dispatching Galina Voskoboeva in an hour at the Australian Open, Venus Williams displayed the form she had before she had to live with Sjogren's Syndrome, Bonnie D. Ford writes. Story

Sharapova started her run to the French Open title with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Alexandra Caduntu at Roland Garros last year. But she said the score line wasn't really relevant.

"If you win 7-6 in the third, you've still won the match," said Sharapova, who later Monday launched a Twitter account, debuting with a reference to her new candy line Sugarpova with an accompanying photo.

"Your ultimate sugarmama has arrived #myfirsttweet," the post said.

Sharapova withdrew from the Brisbane International earlier this month with an injured right collarbone, saying she wanted to concentrate on being fit for the season's first major. She skipped the tournament last year, as well, before going on to reach the Australian Open final.

"After a couple of close games and a few break points, I certainly started to concentrate a bit better," she said. "I didn't want to concentrate on the fact I hadn't played a lot of matches. I just wanted to focus on what was ahead of me and really be aggressive.

"It was one of those matches where I didn't try to worry about her too much."

Sharapova has a potential third-round match against Venus Williams, who needed just an hour for her opening 6-1, 6-0 win over Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan.

Venus WilliamsWilliam West/AFP/GettyImagesVenus Williams won her opening match at the Australian Open, setting up a potential third-round match against Maria Sharapova.

No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska won the last nine games in her opening 7-5, 6-0 win over Australian wild-card entry Bojana Bobusic. And 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur beat Kai-Chen Chang of Taiwan 7-6 (3), 6-3 to end a run of five losses on home soil.

Sixth-seeded Li Na, who lost the Australian Open final before winning the 2011 French Open, had a 6-1, 6-3 win over Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, and No. 18 Julia Goerges of Germany and No. 27 Sorana Cirstea of Romania also advanced.

Former French Open champion and 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic completed women's play for the day with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Melinda Czink of Hungary.

Former No. 1-ranked Jelena Jankovic beat Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-2.

Williams played with power and determination and took command of the match early with a steady stream of winners and powerful serves.

She skipped last year's Australian Open because of illness and was warmly welcomed with applause as she entered the court. Williams had the biggest jump of any of the top players in 2012, moving from outside the top 100 to finish the year at No. 24.

Complete results

Need the scores from any match played in the Australian Open? Results

The announcer told the crowd as Williams, who has won seven major titles, was warming up on court: "She's back and fiery."

Williams said she was happy with the match statistics, particularly her serve, so early in the season.

"I don't think my opponent quite got the hang of … you know, it's hard to play the first match in a major, first thing of the year, and that can be a lot of pressure," Williams said. "I did my best to just close it out."

Her younger sister, Serena, was sitting in the crowd with coach Patrick Mouratoglou. Serena is the strong favorite to win the Australian Open, heading into the tournament with 35 wins in her past 36 matches including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open.

No. 3-ranked Serena is in the top half of the draw with defending champion Azarenka, and the pair won't start until Tuesday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Australian Open 2013

2012 champions
Women's singles:

Victoria Azarenka
Men's singles:
Novak Djokovic
Women's doubles:
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva
Men's doubles:
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek
Mixed doubles:
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau
CourtCast
Follow us on Twitter »
Watch on ESPN
Australian Open website »
Day 14
    •  Djokovic wins third straight Aussie title
    •  Ford: Aussie Open is Djokovic's house
    •  Ford: Bryan Bros -- Nice guys finish first
    •  Djokovic beats Murray in three sets Video
Day 13
    •  Azarenka beats Li in three sets to win Aussie
    •  Ford: Azarenka shows resiliency in title
    •  Tandon: Expect pain in Djokovic-Murray
    •  Bodo: Djoker, Murray matc too close to call
    •  Azarenka wins Australian Open Video
Day 12
    •  Murray stops Federer in five sets
    •  Ford: Murray running head first at excellence
    •  Ford: Agassi angered by Armstrong
    •  Tandon: Villain versus comedian in final
    •  Bodo: Li Na returns to where it all began
    •  Bryant: In sports, you better believe
    •  Murray beats Federer in five sets Video
    •  Digital Serve: Women's final preview Video
Day 11
    •  Recap: Men | Women
    •  Ford: Azarenka win comes with controversy
    •  Ford: Short work is just what Djoker needed
    •  Tandon: Fed-Murray outcome to close to call
    •  Highlight: Azarenka beats Stephens Video
    •  Azarenka on controversial loss Video
    •  Li Na crushes Sharapova Video
    •  Li's thoughts on reaching final Video
    •  Djokovic makes short work of Ferrer Video
    •  Digital Serve: Murray-Federer preview Video
Day 10
    •  Recap: Men | Women
    •  Ford: Stephens stuns Serena
    •  Ford: Fed reveling in memorable win
    •  Tandon: Serena-less semis wide open
    •  Bryant: Ace in the hole
    •  SportsNation vote: Who will win the semis?
    •  Digital Serve: Day 11 preview Video
    •  Serena Williams on her loss Video
    •  Highlight: Sloane shocks Serena Video
    •  Sloane-Serena analysis Video
    •  Sloane Stephens interview Video
    •  Azarenka vanquishes Kuznetsova Video
    •  Federer beats Tsonga in five sets Video
    •  Murray rolls over Chardy Video
Day 9
    •  Recap: Men | Women
    •  Ford: Djokovic's energy level just fine
    •  Ford: Ferrer fights for five-set comeback
    •  Tandon: Serena won't take Stephens lightly
    •  Li Na moves on to semifinals Video
    •  David Ferrer makes dramatic comeback Video
    •  Sharapova rolls over Makarova Video
    •  Digital Serve: Day 10 Preview Video
    •  IBM analytics improve Aussie experience Video
Day 8
    •  Recap: Men | Women
    •  Ford: Federer, again, silences the young
    •  Ford: Stephens battles her way into quarters
    •  Tandon: Novak Djokovic's power of recovery
    •  Victoria Azarenka on to quarters Video
    •  Azarenka talks about her win Video
    •  Kuznetsova upsets Wozniacki Video
    •  Stephens' comical postmatch interview Video
    •  Digital Serve: Day 9 preview Video
More
    •  Week 1 Aussie Open coverage

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