Maria Sharapova has set her sights on another Grand Slam crown after a comfortable opening round win at Flushing Meadows.
Former world No.1 records comfortable victory
Maria Sharapova has set her sights on another Grand Slam crown after a comfortable opening round win at Flushing Meadows.
The 29th-seeded Sharapova brushed aside Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3 6-0 to maintain her fine run of form since returning from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
And Russian, who has won three Grand Slam titles, feels she is getting back to her best.
"I've just been thrilled I can play these matches, beat these girls that have been playing all year long and had really good results," Sharapova said.
"With every match I've learned a lot and I've stepped it up. I certainly feel like I'm cutting down on the errors and getting the confidence back."
Sharapova showed gimpses of the form that took her to the 2006 title as she produced 29 winners - with the outclassed Pironkova managing just six in reply.
And while the 22-year-old came through the opening round unscathed, another former world No.1 crashed out.
Slumped
Ana Ivanovic, seeded 11th, had raced into a one set lead but she couldn't build on that as eventually slumped to a 2-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) loss to Kateryna Bondarenko.
The Serbian, who had lost in the second round at Flushing Meadows in 2008, was left frustrated by the defeat.
"Obviously it hurts," Ivanovic said. "I created a lot of chances for myself and I'm really disappointed that I made a few mistakes in the important moments and my forehand let me down on a few occasions.
"I played great, set myself up and made the mistake in the net every time. It's a little frustrating."
Fourth seed Elena Dementieva, a potential third-round opponent for Sharapova, needed just 50 minutes to see off France's Camille Pin.
The Olympic champion raced to a 6-1 6-2 victory as she continued the impressive run of form that saw her lift the WTA Tour title in Toronto in August.
Dementieva will now face American Melanie Oudin in the second round.
Number 21 seed Jie Zheng is also through to the next round after she beat Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3 6-2.
