Maria Sharapova's 6.1 million Facebook fans make her the most followed female athlete on the social network. Exerting her influence online and on the court, she's put pursuers in the rear-view mirror in racing through the first two rounds of this Australian Open. Today, a precise Sharapova won eight straight games in powering past American qualifier Jamie Hampton, 6-0, 6-1, in 64 minutes. A stingy Sharapova stomped Gisela Dulko by the same score in the first round.
Before you begin rolling your eyes and muttering, "Who has she beat so far?" (a rhetorical retort sometimes followed by, "Why are you doing an RR on a blow-out match?!") consider the lopsided first-set score that doesn't tell the entire story: Three of the first four games went to deuce as 144th-ranked Hampton, who was playing her first second-round match in a major, used her variety to hang tough initially.
The 22-year-old Auburn, Ala. native won the toss, elected to serve and opened by banging an ace, eventually earning a 40-15 lead she could not make stick as the seven-minute game waged on. Turning her shoulders and hips into her shots, Sharapova slammed a series of diagonal forehands into the corner to break for 1-0. The three-time Grand Slam champion hit 16 winners against 12 errors in the opening set.
The first-set score was slightly deceptive; the second set was simply dominant. Sharapova won 26 of 37 points played in the second set, as Hampton hit the wall after a series of side-to-side windsprints sapped the strength from her legs and lungs. Hampton has soft hands and good feel around the net, but lacked the firepower to slow Sharapova and combat her blasts.
It's fascinating to see Sharapova, whose shots sometimes look as straight as the grim, green flat line on a heart monitor, able to shape that straight shot to create a sharp angle. Another Nick Bollettieri protegee, Monica Seles, was one of the best I've ever seen at driving opponents deep behind the baseline, then bending a sharp-angled crosscourt shot slathered with spin to make the ball dip. Sharapova did exactly that in one backhand exchange today, battering her double-hander deep to put Hampton on the defensive, then firing a flat backhand that nearly skimmed the net as it found the short court. That's one of the dangers Sharapova poses on rhythm: She drives the ball so deep that she forces you on your heels trying to defend, so when she works the width of the court it almost seems unfair to the unfortunate opponent on other end.
"I didn't know too much about my opponent; today more about getting my feet going and worrying about myself and trying to improve from the first round," Sharapova told Rennae Stubbs afterward.
As one of only three former champions in the women's field, Sharapova will play 30th-seeded German lefthander Angelique Kerber for a spot in the round of 16.
—Richard Pagliaro