Sharapova reach second round in Melbourne

MELBOURNE: Maria Sharapova ruined Petra Martic's 24th birthday on Monday by recording a 6-4, 6-1 victory to advance to the second round of the Australian Open.

Sharapova ran hot and cold in the first set, taking a 5-2 lead only for the Croatian to battle back to 5-4 and holding a break point to get the match back on serve before Sharapova held and then broke to seal the set in 43 minutes.

The Russian five-times grand slam champion faced some staunch resistance from the 184th-ranked Croatian in the second set despite the one-sided scoreline, but was mostly able to convert the crucial points when they mattered.