Maria Sharapova breezes into round two

Maria Sharapova has comfortably navigated her Australian Open first-round match against Olga Puchkova.

The world number two needed just 55 minutes to dispose of the world number 107 in straight sets.

Sharapova - on serve - was pushed hard in the opening game of the match, saving break point and a series of deuces to eventually get her nose in front.

From then on, it was one-way traffic, as the Russian closed out the first set without dropping a game in just half an hour.

Her dominance continued in the second set and, despite her suffering her usual troubles with double faults, she claimed a whitewash victory.

The result perhaps flattered the 25-year-old, whose opponent showed glimpses of her ability on the tennis court.