Sharapova quickly into her stride

Maria Sharapova is safely through to the second round at Wimbledon after a 6-1 6-4 victory over Stephanie Foretz.

Maria Sharapova is safely through to the second round at Wimbledon after a 6-1 6-4 victory over Stephanie Foretz.

The 2004 champion was never at her best, but she never needed to be against the world number 105 from France.

Next up for the third seed is a meeting with fellow Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, who was a 6-0 6-4 winner over Ekaterina Makarova.

Australian Open winner Sharapova is no stranger to the attention on Court One, and a nervy start by Foretz allowed the Russian to gain an immediate advantage in the first meeting between the two.

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The 21-year-old broke in game two - thanks to a powerful forehand which Foretz was unable to return - before holding her own serve to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set.

Foretz settled slightly when she managed to get herself on the board in the next game, but her third-seeded opponent seemed in a hurry and broke again in game six before clinching the set with just 26 minutes on the clock.

Sharapova made it four games on the trot with another break at the start of the second as Foretz again failed to cope with her opponent's unstoppable forehand.

A stunning return down the line earned her another break in the seventh, but Foretz showed she had something in the tank by breaking back in the next game.

The Frenchwoman also clung on in the following game, but that left Sharapova serving for the match and she needed no second invitation, clinching victory in

one hour and 15 minutes.

"It was definitely a good start, considering I didn't have a warm-up tournament like I usually do," said the 21-year-old. "My main goal is just to go out there, get a feel for it as fast as I could and get the job done.

"Obviously, it's very important to start off the tournament in good form. I knew my opponent has already played a couple of matches. Going on to Court One today, I knew the court would be a little bit different from the practice courts. It's not as worn out, as well.

"I just wanted to get a feel for it as fast as I could and do the right things and win the match as quickly as I could."