Russian top seed Maria Sharapova has dished out a 6-0, 6-1 defeat to Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in the second round to cruise into the WTA Paris Open quarter-finals.
A shock fourth-round loser at the season-opening Grand Slam the Australian Open in Melbourne earlier this month Sharapova regained the winning thread at the Stade Coubertin, serving 10 aces with just two double faults.
Sharapova's Melbourne campaign was just her second event since a shoulder injury ended the 26-year-old world number five's 2013 season in August, a setback which also ruled her out of the US Open.
However, Sharapova, the 2012 French Open champion, said that her early exit from the Australian Open - beaten by Hantuchova's compatriot Dominika Cibulkova who went on to lose in the final to China's Li Na - had had its positive side to it with regard to the indoor tournament.
"It's quite an adjustment coming here," she said.
"I lost quite early in Australia, so it gave me a little bit more time to get ready for this event, to catch up on jet lag and get through that.
"I've had some good practices on centre court here. It's a pretty small venue so you want to get as much centre court time as you can, and just take it a step at a time and focus on each match.
"I like playing on all types of different surfaces though, and a smaller venue is a bit more intimate too. I have enjoyed playing on these types of courts in the past."
Hantuchova had a disastrous start, picking up just one point in the first two games, then none in the fourth and fifth games to trail 5-0 after a mere 15 minutes.
She failed to convert her first three set points, clinching it on the fourth attempt to claim the opening set after 25 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second set with Sharapova racing to a 2-0 lead before, after 39 minutes play and to the delight of the crowd Hantuchova claimed her one and only game.
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