Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova eased to a straight-sets victory over Stephanie Dubois on the opening day of the AEGON Classic in Birmingham.
The 22-year-old, a two-time winner at the Edgbaston Priory Club, had only a minor blip in the first set before dispatching the Canadian 6-4 6-2 as her improving form on her comeback from injury continued.
Sharapova, a quarter-finalist at the French Open, raced into a 4-1 lead with two breaks but was pegged back to 4-3 after losing her serve in the sixth game.
The 2004 Wimbledon champion recovered to take the set in 44 minutes but the start of the second saw both players drop games on their serve.
However, the Russian world number 73 stepped up the pace by breaking Dubois in the fifth and seventh games to go 5-2 up and completed victory in 74 minutes.
Sharapova won back-to-back Edgbaston titles in 2004 and 2005, was runner-up in 2007 and, after missing last year's event because of a shoulder injury, is the major attraction on the Birmingham grass courts.
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