Fifth seed Maria Sharapova overwhelmed Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3 in the Australian Open second round on Wednesday to bring the US tennis mum's Grand Slam comeback to a juddering halt.
A match expected to be a hard-fought slugfest between two of the biggest hitters in the game became a one-sided affair as an intensely-focused Sharapova rattled Davenport with an early onslaught.
The glamorous Russian said she had to be at the top of her game against three-time Grand Slam champion Davenport, who has shown outstanding form since returning to the tour in September less than four months having a baby.
"I approached it like it was a final ever since I took a peek at the draw and saw that Lindsay was my second round," the Florida-based 20-year-old said.
"From the day I found out I might play her I started working towards her game. I wanted my coach to hit the ball as hard as he can for five days because she's one of the biggest hitters out there."
Sharapova blasted an ace in the first game, setting out to dominate from start of a match believed to be the first time two former world number ones and multiple Grand Slam winners have met so early in a major.
{{/usCountry}}Sharapova blasted an ace in the first game, setting out to dominate from start of a match believed to be the first time two former world number ones and multiple Grand Slam winners have met so early in a major.
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