Maria wins first match at Pan Pacific Open

Maria Sharapova overcame a slow start to beat Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi 7-6 6-0 at the Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday.
It was the Russian's first match since losing to Serena Williams in last week's Australian Open semi-finals.


Sharapova received a bye into the second round in Tokyo and the Wimbledon champion struggled in the first set, dropping serve twice before taking control.



The second seed converted her fourth set point to take the tiebreak 7-3 with a crunching forehand down the line.



A more focused Sharapova powered through the second set in just 20 minutes, the 17-year-old closing out the match with her ninth ace to reach the quarter-finals.



Maria squandered match point in a crushing 2-6 7-5 8-6 loss to Williams in Melbourne. Williams went on to beat Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final at the weekend.