Impatient Maria Sharapova into Australian Open second round!

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) - Maria Sharapova of Russia won her teenage battle with Sesil Karatantcheva, advancing to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-1 victory. But although the score suggests an easy victory for the 17-year-old Wimbledon champion, Sharapova was tested by a 15-year-old who stretched her to three sets in the Bulgarian's debut tournament at Indian Wells last March. "Shes a very dangerous opponent, especially in a first-round match," said Sharapova. "But I knew what to expect. Very aggressive player." "Shes a very dangerous opponent, especially in a first-round match," said Sharapova. "But I knew what to expect. Very aggressive player." Her greater weight of shot gave Sharapova an advantage, but Karatantcheva's persistence often led to impatient errors from the Russian, who frequently overhit the ball before securing victory in exactly an hour. Committing 19 unforced errors and finding just seven winners in the opening set, Sharapova's tactic was to try and pull her opponent wide.

But Karatantcheva was equal to the challenge and her enterprise was often rewarded in the fiercely contested rallies. A strong start in each set proved to be valuable insurance for Sharapova, who was broken after taking a 2-0 lead in the first set and again after earning a double-break and 3-0 lead in the second. But although Karatantcheva battled well and forced mistakes from Sharapova, she never looked remotely capable of upsetting her fourth-seeded opponent. In the second set Sharapova reduced her errors dramatically, and her more aggressive play eventually proved too much for Karatantcheva to handle. "You know, I just played a good, solid first-round match," Sharapova said. "You can't expect the best from yourself, but meanwhile its good to get through." Sharapova's fairytale performance at Wimbledon last year saw her hailed as the new dominant force in women's tennis. But the youngster is confident of handling the expectations and the inevitable disappointments when things dont go as planned. "Like I've said before, I cannot win everything," she said. "I'm still developing my game. It's not that I won a Grand Slam and all of a sudden I'm going to win everything. "I understand that. My game is still a work in progress."