Australian Open 2018: Maria Sharapova cruises into second round; Milos Raonic ousted by Lukas Lacko

Melbourne: Former World No 1 Maria Sharapova sailed into the second round of her first Australian Open since returning from a 15-month doping ban but an underprepared Milos Raonic was dumped out in the first round by Lukas Lacko. The unseeded Russian beat Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 18 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_4304785” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Maria Sharapova got the best of Tatjana Maria while Milos Raonic was beaten by Lukas Lacko in four sets. AP[/caption] “Look, I’ve got shivers,” said Sharapova pointing to her arm when asked on the court how much being back in Melbourne meant to her. “I cherish these moments. I love it here,” she added. “It’s been a couple of years and I wanted it to be really meaningful to me. But we know it’s only going to get tougher.” On paper, this should have been a close match. Sharapova, who is climbing her way back up the tennis ladder following her ban, is ranked 48th with her German opponent one place higher. But the gulf in class and experience between Sharapova, who has won 36 singles titles, and the 30-year-old journeywoman yet to register a WTA title was evident from the opening exchanges. The Russian 2008 Australian Open champion raced into a 2-0 lead, holding her own serve to love and then breaking Maria with ease. It set the tone for the opening stanza with Sharapova, behind her trademark loud shrieking, powering home winners as Maria failed to hold serve. A couple of double faults and one dropped service game aside, Sharapova was almost flawless in taking the first set 6-1 in just 32 minutes behind 14 winners, most of them driven unerringly from her powerful forehand side. Decibel meter The German found her service range at the start of the second and briefly led 3-1 after breaking Sharapova for a second time. But the Russian cranked up the decibel meter, broke back with a further flurry of forehand winners and levelled at 3-3 when holding serve with a cry of “Come on!” When Sharapova forced another break point after an attritional 18-shot rally, the German’s fleeting resistance melted away on a double fault as the five-time Grand Slam champion scented victory. The German held for 4-5 but, serving with new balls, Sharapova closed out the win with an ace and a huge smile for the rapturous crowd on Margaret Court Arena. Sharapova had been banned for taking the performance-enhancing substance meldonium and has been working her way back up the rankings since returning in April 2017. One of the highest earners in women’s sport, she suffered a string of early defeats after her comeback. But she showed glimpses of her old self by reaching the last 16 at the US Open and then broke through to win the Tianjin Open in October — her first title since 2015. She got back into the world’s top 50 just before the year’s first Grand Slam and on this form will relish a potential second-round meeting with 14th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia or American Varvara Lepchenko. Raonic dumped out Raonic made his earliest exit at a Grand Slam for seven years when he lost to 86th-ranked Slovakian Lacko 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in 3hr 22min on Show Court Three. It was Raonic’s worst performance at a major since losing in the first round at Roland Garros in 2011. The Canadian, a semi-finalist in Melbourne two years ago, was fighting to make up for lost time after wrist and calf injuries last year and an early exit at the lead-in Brisbane International tournament this month. “I wasn’t sharp and I struggled physically, thankfully not from injury, but from fitness and preparedness and that caught up with me a lot,” Raonic told reporters. “I was hoping I would be a little more efficient on the court but things dragged on a little bit and I wasn’t that sharp, quick, I wasn’t hitting that hard or aggressive and I wasn’t able to dictate.” Asked about his lack of preparation time for the Australian Open, Raonic said: “It is what it is. “It’s what I was aware when I came here, I knew it was going to be something along these lines, obviously I wished it would be much better. “I knew that the time I had to spend in the gym and on the court wasn’t ideal and I just tried to make the most of it.” Raonic, a 2016 Wimbledon finalist, is fighting his way back from a wrist injury last season and despite serving 36 aces, he made 47 unforced errors and had his serve broken three times. Lacko, who hasn’t been beyond the third round in Melbourne, will play Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker in the second round.