(Reuters) – Maria Sharapova returned after four months out injured with a completely dominant 6-3 6-0 victory over France’s Caroline Garcia in the opening round of the Brisbane International yesterday.
The world number four showed no signs of the shoulder injury which has kept her off court since the Western and Southern Open in August as she raced into the second round in 64 minutes on Pat Rafter arena.
“I was pretty sick of the off-season and I was ready to get going,” a beaming Sharapova said on court.
“I missed the game, I wanted to come out here and really perform well and I tried to do that.”
Clearly frustrated after so long without any competitive action, the 26-year-old Russian came out firing on all cylinders and raced to a 3-0 lead against her 74th ranked opponent.
The four-times major champion, watched by her new coach Sven Groeneveld, ruthlessly dismantled the big serve that has created excitement around the 20-year-old Garcia.
Sharapova wrapped up the first set with a blistering forehand winner after 39 minutes and two further service breaks later was 4-0 up in the second.
