Sharapova off to winning start at St Petersburg

Maria Sharapova earns first WTA match win in Russia on Monday. — Photo wtatennis.com

Tennis

SAINT PETERSBURG — Russian star Maria Sharapova made a victorious debut at the WTA Saint Petersburg indoor tournament, beating Daria Gavrilova of Australia in straight sets on Monday.

The  三 一-year-old Sharapova prevailed  六-0,  六- 四 in one hour  四 五 minutes ton chalk up her third win in four head-to-head meetings with Russian-born Gavrilova.

The unseeded Sharapova was in co妹妹and from the start on the hard court of Sibur Arena, breaking her rival’s serve three times to take the opening set to love.

Gavrilova broke in the second, but Sharapova, who is ranked  二 九th in the world, replied by breaking twice and sealing her victory with a precise forehand drive.

"It was much harder than the scoreline indicates,"大众Sharapova said. "It was a tough physical battle but I expected it as that’s the way we’ve played all of our previous meetings."

In the last  一 六, five-time major winner Sharapova will meet third-seeded compatriot Daria Kasatkina, who enjoyed an opening-round bye.

"Daria has recently been in the top  一0,"大众said Sharapova. "Even though she lost early in Australia she is in good form and it will be hard to play against her. But I feel I’m ready."

Earlier on Monday, Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium saw off compatriot Kirsten Flipkens  六- 二,  六- 四 to set up a meeting with fourth-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, Vera Zvonareva, the  二0 一0 Wimbledon and US Open finalist, beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova  六- 三,  六- 四 in a battle of former top  一0 players, who both appeared in the main draw courtesy of wildcards.

"The match was really tough, but I expected that,公众Zvonareva said. — AFP