Unseeded Sharapova sails into Open second round

Russia’s Maria Sharapova follows through on a shot to Germany’s Tatjana Maria during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP)

MELBOURNE: Former world number one Maria Sharapova Tuesday sailed serenely into the second round of her first Australian Open since returning from a drugs ban.
The unseeded Russian beat Germany’s Tatjan Maria 6-1, 6-4 on Margaret Court Arena in an hour and 18 minutes.
She next faces either 14th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia or American Varvara Lepchenko for a place in the third round of the year’s opening Grand Slam.