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Maria Sharapova cruises into Shenzhen Open second round

By Harry Floyd

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 04: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot against Simona Halep of Romania during the Women's singles 3rd round on day five of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 4, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 04: Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot against Simona Halep of Romania during the Women's singles 3rd round on day five of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 4, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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Maria Sharapova cruises into the second round of the 2018 Shenzhen Open. She wins her New Year’s Day opening round match.

Maria Sharapova is off to a strong start at the 2018 Shenzhen Open.

The former world No. 1 wins her opening round match on the first day of the new year. Sharapova defeats Mihaela Buzarnescu with ease, winning their meeting 6-3, 6-0.

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Up next for the Russian tennis star is American Alison Riske on Tuesday. Riske is the two-time runner-up at the Shenzhen Open in both of the previous two years. She will likely give Sharapova more of a challenge than Buzarnescu.

Maria Sharapova is looking to reinvent herself on the 2018 WTA Tour.

2018 is a big year for Sharapova. She enters the WTA Tour this season for potentially a full calendar after returning to tennis last year. The Russian served a suspension for the use of a banned substance that took her away from the sport for fifteen months.

A deep run at the 2018 Shenzhen Open will do plenty to boost Sharapova’s momentum in the early weeks of the WTA Tour. With the Australian Open in less than two weeks, any momentum gained in Shenzhen is crucial. Sharapova is the 2008 women’s singles champion at Melbourne Park and will be an interesting pick to make a deep run this year.

Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

Also in action at the Shenzhen Open are both world No. 1 Simona Halep and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The field is packed with some of the best players in women’s singles tennis. Halep is in action on Tuesday at the WTA International event. Ostapenko and Halep have the potential for a rematch of their French Open final if both players can reach the finals at the Shenzhen Open. If players such as Maria Sharapova hope to taste glory this week, they will need to get past the top seeds. Stay tuned to see how the Russian tennis star fares throughout the rest of the Shenzhen Open. Check back for all of the early tour updates as players are gearing up in the weeks leading up to the 2018 Australian Open.

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