Maria Sharapova needed just 73 minutes to completely dismantle WTA Rising Star Nao Hibino 6-1, 6-3 at the 2016 Australian Open. Sharapova will play Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich next, who defeated Evgeniya Rodina in her opening round match.

Sharapova Sizzles in Opening Set

After withdrawing from the Brisbane International – her first and only tournament ahead of the Australian Open, many doubts lingered around Sharapova’s health, and whether or not she would be fit enough to play in the first Grand Slam of the season.

For someone who hasn't played a competitive match in two months, there was also the added risk of being rusty, a normal thing that all professional athletes experience after a long layoff. However, judging by her early exchanges with Hibino, one would have never guessed that Sharapova had yet to play a match in two months; she was timing the ball extremely well off the ground, and was merciless on serve.

After holding to open proceedings, the fifth seed broke her lesser experienced Japanese counterpart at the first time of asking, an advantage she would later go on to consolidate to mount an early 3-0 lead. Hibino, however, was able to restore some Japanese pride inside Margaret Court Arena as she finally got on the board, much to the delight of a pro-underdog crowd. Unfazed by the slight shift in momentum, Sharapova answered with a hold of her own and continued to roll on serve en route to opening up a sizeable 4-1 lead. 4-1 soon became 5-1 as the former world number one was able to apply enough pressure to ware down her Japanese counterpart. Moments later, Sharapova would serve out the opening set in emphatic style, doing so at love to take the opening set 6-1.

Sharapova Cruises in Second Set, Hibino Mounts Late Fight Back

The opening set began much like the first with Sharapova dictating the majority of the rallies, forcing Hibino further and further behind the baseline and having to counter the brute hitting of the world number five. Straight off the bat, the Russian made an emphatic statement of intent, breaking at love and consolidating the advantage with a hold at love of her own. With Hibino having no answers to Sharapova’s game, it was no surprise that the five-time Grand Slam champion found herself up a double break within minutes of the commencement of the second set. 3-0 quickly became 4-0 in a matter of seconds, and Sharapova looked well on her way to a routine win. However, Hibino refused to back down, saving two break points before finally getting on the board and avoiding the dreaded second set bagel. Answering with a hold of her own, Sharapova was just a game away from victory now.

But Hibino, who had spent so much of the match on the back foot, began to be more aggressive and raise her level as a whole, giving Sharapova a taste of her own medicine. As a result, she began to mount a late-match fightback. It all started when she was serving to stay in the match; after falling down 0-15, the Japanese number one began to open up her shoulders and swing freely, moving the world number give from side-to-side en route to a routine hold of serve. Shortly after holding, Hibino saved two match points in Sharapova's next service game before earning a surprise break to close the gap to just two games and a break.

However, it was a case of too little, too late from the 21-year-old as the 28-year-old Russian began to put even more pressure on the receiving end, eventually converting her fourth match point with a big inside out forehand return winner to seal a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory.

A Look at the Final Numbers

Sharapova's numbers are a great reflection of how she played on Monday evening; she served exceptionally well, hitting eleven aces to just two double faults and winning 86% of the points behind her first serve. In addition to this, she broke five times and hit 28 winners to just 21 unforced errors along the way, while Hibino struggled to stay in touch with Sharapova, committing 18 unforced errors and hitting just 11 winners. It'll be back to the drawing board for the 21-year-old who made her a Grand Slam debut against Sharapova, while the world number five will look to pose similar numbers for the rest of the tournament.