Sharapova ruthless in Dulko thrashing

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Maria Sharapova marched into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday with a ruthless 6-0 6-1 victory over Agrentina’s Gisela Dulko in just 58 minutes.

The 24-year-old Russian had been heading for a ‘double bagel’ 6-0 6-0 victory until she temporarily lost control of her serve in the third game of the second set and was broken. Dulko, who had beaten Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2009 in their only other meeting, punched the air in delight after winning the game while the crowd on the second show court of Hisense Arena gave her a massive cheer and sustained applause.

Sharapova, however, was not prepared to stay on court any longer than she had to in the intense heat, breaking Dulko’s next two service games and while the Argentine had three break points when the fourth seed was serving for the match she was unable to stave off the inevitable.