Sharapova cruises through Australian Open

Maria Sharapova booked her spot in the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-0 win over fellow Russian Elena Vesnina on the Vodafone Arena.

Sharapova will face another compatriot in the next round when she takes on Elena Dementieva after she overcame Israel’s Shahar Peer 6-2 6-0 in her third round match earlier in the day.

It took last year’s beaten finalist 52 minutes to take the first set before a devastating performance in the second gave Sharapova what turned out to be a comfortable win.

Vesnina, who made 28 unforced errors throughout the match, had no answer for Sharapova’s power and the former Wimbledon champion breezed through the second set, winning it in just 29 minutes.