Maria Sharapova
IN PHOTO: Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after winning her match against Johanna Konta of Britain at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, June 29, 2015. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Maria Sharapova has advanced in the second round of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. Sharapova beat Australian-born British player Johanna Konta in straight sets 6-2 6-2 to kick off her campaign to win a second Wimbledon trophy.

The Russian tennis star, whose Wimbledon glory came 11 years ago, only needed one hour and 22 minutes to dispatch Konta. After dropping serve in the first game of the second set, Sharapova broke back to take a 3-1 lead and eventually clinch the victory over the 126th-ranked player. She fired 23 winners compared to Konta’s 10.

Following her fourth-round defeat to Lucie Safarova at the 2015 French Open, Sharapova opted not to take part in a lead-up tournament just before the Wimbledon Championships. Instead, she decided to rest her body and recover after her French Open heartbreak.

Sharapova said via Wimbledon.com that she made sure to start her campaign at SW19 “strong” even though she knew little about Konta, who came into the tournament after a remarkable run at the Aegon International in Eastbourne. Sharapova said that she just reviewed Konta’s recent results, which include a quarterfinal appearance at Eastbourne, to help her get ready for the match.

“Coming in without any proper grass court matches, I just wanted to take care of business,” Sharapova said. “I thought I did a good job of that today.”

Sharapova regarded Konta as a “solid opponent”. She added that she had to work for her points. Though the Russian’s serve was a bit rickety, she managed to come through to move on to the next round.

It was in 2004 when Sharapova stunned defending champion Serena Williams at the Wimbledon Championships. The only time that Sharapova has made it in the finale was in 2011, but she lost to Czech Petra Kvitova, who was the 2014 champion.

Sharapova will play qualifier Richel Hogenkamp in the second round. It will be the first meeting for both on professional tour. Hogenkamp last played at the claycourt event in Montpellier where she reached the semifinal before losing to Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 7-6 (7) 6-2.

Sharapova’s boyfriend, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, has also avoided the casualties list and moved on to the second round after defeating unseeded Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3 6-0 6-4. Dimitrov will play Steve Johnson of the U.S. in his second round match.

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